An Unknown Disaster
by Ashton Li
Summary: On this rainy day, Echizen Ryoma stood outside in front of Fuji Syusuke's house. On this rainy day, Echizen Ryoma has a secret that he doesn't even know how he could explain. Hopefully, Fuji Syusuke would be able to figure out what had happened.
1. Chapter 1

**NOTE:**** Welcome to another one of my FujiXRyoma fics. This marks my 50****th**** fanfic to be posted. I originally said that I would not have more than one fic per pairing up at a time (for chapter fics), but I just started writing this one night and decided once I finished the first chapter, I'd post it. I warn you know that Fuji and Ryoma might seem out of character, but I think you'll see why as you continue to read.**

**Anyways, I do not own these characters. I hope you'll enjoy.**

**An Unknown Disaster**

Gray clouds covered the sky and poured droplets of water down upon the ground. The wind picked up making the air chilly. It was weather no one would want to be in. Though, a boy with a greenish-blue tint to his hair stood in front of a house. He stared at the house and allowed the rain to fall onto him. The boy didn't move or blink, and it seemed as if he was barely breathing. His honey brown eyes were emotionless. It seemed as if he was a broken child.

"Echizen!" another boy ran from out of the house. He held on to a blue umbrella to keep hi light brown hair from getting wet. "What are you doing out here in this weather?"

Without saying a word, the slightly shorter of the two wobbled forward. After only taking a few steps, he collapsed into the other's arms.

Holding him up, the taller of them let go of his umbrella and lifted the small boy into his arms. Slowly, he made his way back towards the house and fumbled to get the door open.

"Syusuke, what's going on?" a woman came up to the boy. "This is…"

"Echizen Ryoma," he walked past his mother and up the stairs.

"…Syusuke…"

* * *

The brunette placed Ryoma on the bed in his room. Moving strands of hair, he touched his hand against the boy's forehead. His skin felt warm and he knew Ryoma shouldn't stay in those wet clothes.

"Echizen," he softly shook the boy. "You have to get up for a minute."

"Nn…" the lids over Ryoma's honey brown eyes slowly opened. "Fuji…senpai…"

"Here," a rather large shirt and a pair of shorts were tossed to him. "If you stay in those wet clothes, you won't get any better."

Again, Ryoma didn't speak a single word; all he did was pull off his clothes and replace them with the fresh ones. He darted his eyes back and forth as if he didn't know where he was. After nodding to himself, Ryoma sat back on to the bed.

"Want to tell me what made you stand outside in this weather?" Fuji stared at the person who sat on his bed.

"It wasn't raining when I left," Ryoma avoided looking at the taller boy. "I just wanted to take a walk…"

"You're lying," he plopped down next to him. "My mom's going to want to know why you're here."

"Tell her I wanted to visit."

"That wouldn't explain to her why you were passed out in my arms."

"Then make something up!" Ryoma covered his mouth. Even with his cocky attitude, he wouldn't dare yell at his upperclassmen like he just had. There has to be something that happened to make him react like that.

Fuji blinked a few times out of shock, but soon regained his composure. "I'll see what I can do, but I do expect you to tell me the real reason as to why you're here."

"I'd like to spend the night," the younger boy looked next to him. "Or would that cause too much trouble?"

Scanning Ryoma, Fuji could tell that there was something that had happened. Feeling as if Ryoma wouldn't go home if he had said he couldn't stay, he came to a decision. "Let me go tell my mom that you'll be staying for the night." Without letting Ryoma respond, Fuji left his room.

"How could I even begin to tell you what has happened?"

* * *

Down in the kitchen on the house, Fuji found his mother fixing a cup of tea. Right when she heard the boy coming, she turned to him.

"Syusuke, what happened?" the woman looked at her son. "That person you had in your arms was a teammate of yours, right?"

Fuji nodded his head as she spoke. Then, when he knew she was finished, he began to speak himself. "Yeah…Echizen Ryoma. He was taking a walk before it stared to rain. When it did start, he was already so far from his house that it was faster to get here. From the rain and the chill of the air, I guess his body couldn't take it and he passed out. If it's ok, he's going to spend the night."

"That's fine, but make sure he calls his family so they know he's here."

"I will," he smiled and hurried back to his room.

* * *

Up in Fuji's room, Ryoma noticed the small collection of cacti by the window. He carefully picked up one of the potted plants. Slowly, he touched the cactus. When he was pricked by it, Ryoma accidentally let the pot slip from his hand. Getting on the floor, Ryoma cleaned up the mess he had made. Looking at his hands, he noticed the damage that was done to them.

The door to the room clicked open. "Echizen, you need to call your house so they know you're staying the night."

"I don't have to," Ryoma held his hands up to Fuji. "Would you show me to the bathroom?"

Fuji rushed to Ryoma's side and grabbed hold of his wrists. "What happened?"

"I was picking up the pot I broke…sorry…"

"That's not important; lets go get your hands cleaned up," helping Ryoma off of the floor, Fuji pulled him out of the bedroom and into the bathroom.

* * *

Turning on the water in the sink, Fuji told the younger boy to rinse the blood off his hands. Fuji grabbed for a towel and wiped Ryoma's hands dry.

"Well, they don't seem too bad," Fuji carefully placed bandages over the larger cuts.

"I'm sorry that I broke your pot," Ryoma mumbled as he watched his hands get covered.

"You don't understand, do you?" the older of the two traced one of the bandages with his finger. "I'm not worried about the cactus…I'm worried about you, Echizen."

"…senpai…"

"Something had to of happened to make you wander outside in the pouring rain. You're not behaving like you usually would, and it's gotten me curious to know what is going on in that head of yours."

"I…" Ryoma stared at his hands. "I don't want to live there anymore…"

"Why?"

"Because…there's no one there for me to go home to…"

**NOTE:**** Before you say anything, yes, I meant to end it the first chapter like this. I wanted to do a cliffhanger type thing. I hope you've enjoyed the first chapter of "An Unknown Disaster". If you did, maybe you'll come back when the next chapter is posted?**

**I should be working on my other fics, but I couldn't resist this one. Well, at least I have something up. It's been awhile since I've updated anything (yet again). I've just been so busy…it's horrible. I'll try to work on my other fics soon. These past few weeks I've been working on my Prince of Tennis website…and…I'm really going to start running out of excuses soon.**

**I usually have something to ramble about, but I don't this time around. Well, if you've read one of my other fics, thanks for coming and reading another one of mine. If this is the first time you've read one of mine, thanks for reading. I hope you've all enjoyed it thus far~!**


	2. Chapter 2

Fuji stood there in the bathroom just staring at Ryoma with confusion. He couldn't figure out what exactly the younger boy was talking about. Ryoma wasn't the type of person to joke about things…not things this serious.

"Fuji-senpai," Ryoma looked up at his with a glint of melancholy in his eyes. "Why aren't you saying anything?"

"I don't understand what you mean, Echizen. There's no one there for you to go home to?" he blinked a few times trying to think of anything that would make sense.

The younger boy bit his lower lip if he was becoming nervous. "I just don't want to go back…"

"There has to be something more to it than that."

"I don't want to talk about it."

Fuji placed his hand on the boy's right shoulder. "Echizen."

"Please don't make me," he pulled away from Fuji's touch. "It's uncomfortable."

"Lets go back to my room," Fuji placed a smile on his face that wasn't true. He headed out of the small bathroom and down the hall towards his room. Behind him, Ryoma trailed along. Even though Fuji wasn't looking at him, he could feel the sadness within each step Ryoma took.

* * *

Back in Fuji's room, Ryoma almost instantly placed himself on the bed. He scanned the room and noted his surroundings. When he spotted the cacti still sitting by the window, he shook his head as if he was disappointed in what he had done. Quickly, Ryoma shot his head to the left when he heard the door click closed.

"Is something wrong?" Fuji questioned as he walked up to his dresser which rested next to his closet. Opening up the top drawer, he pulled out a pair of pajamas in light gray.

"What are you doing?" Ryoma leaned himself slightly forward as he intently watched the taller boy move closer to him.

"It's getting late, and I'm starting to get tired."

"What time is it?"

"There's a clock next to you," he pointed to a small black box on the stand next to the bed and began to change clothes.

"It's ten already?" Ryoma glanced at the clock.

"How long have you been walking around outside?"

"Since I got up this morning at eight."

"No wonder you had a temperature," Fuji reached out his hand and placed it on Ryoma's forehead. "You're still a little warm."

Ryoma flinched and once again moved himself away. "It's uncomfortable."

"Are you scared of my touch?"

"Fuji-senpai…" he held his head down low as he wiped his eyes with the back of his right hand. "Don't make me go back there."

At that moment, Fuji was completely convinced that something bad had to have happened in order to make Ryoma act this way. Not wanting to go home and feeling uncomfortable when touched, Fuji's mind came to a conclusion; some one at the Echizen residence was hurting Ryoma.

"What has happened to you, Echizen?" Fuji's voice was demanding, and he wasn't going to let Ryoma get away with saying he didn't want to talk about it.

"It's not important," the small body of Ryoma's began to shake as tears dripped from his eyes and down onto his legs.

"Echizen…"

"I don't want t―"

Ryoma's words were cut off as Fuji wrapped his arms tightly around him. Within his grip, Ryoma flailed around and screamed as if he was being hurt.

"No!" he panicked. "Don't hurt me!"

Right when those words were uttered from his lips, Fuji let go of him. "Don't tell me that it's not important when there is obviously something wrong."

"Fuji-senpai would…he wouldn't…" Ryoma vigorously shook as he covered his face with his hands. "Fuji-senpai…wouldn't…"

"Echizen, what has happened to you?"

He looked up through the strands of his messy hair. "It hurt…so much…and no one cared. There was no one there to care about me. I wasn't making it up…I was telling them the truth. They don't believe me…it's as if there's no one to go home to. Why should I return? I…I don't want to…"

"What hurt? What didn't they believe?" Fuji got on his knees so he could look Ryoma in the eyes. "I'll believe you, so you don't have to be afraid to tell me."

"He came out of no where…I just wanted to get home safely. Momo-senpai…he usually walks me home…but not that night. That night…I don't want to go back to that night…"

"Echizen, where you―"

"Don't say it."

"But―"

"It hurts enough…please don't say it…"

"We have to do something about this. Tell me what you remember," Fuji placed his hand under Ryoma's chin and lifted it slightly. "You can't just pretend this didn't happen."

"I just want to have a peaceful night," Ryoma shifted his eyes away from the older boy.

"Promise me you won't keep anything a secret from me."

"Senpai…I know I can trust you."

A sincere smile was painted on Fuji's face. "I would never hurt you, Echizen."

"Thank you…"

"Lets try to get some sleep. You can sleep in my bed for the night."

"Um…Fuji-senpai…I'd feel safer if you were in the bed with me," Ryoma's cheeks had a red tint showing that he was embarrassed by saying such a thing.

"I understand."

* * *

That night, Ryoma slept next to Fuji while clinging to the back of the older boy's gray shirt. Every hour, he seemed to wake up, but when he noticed Fuji by his side, he felt slightly relieved and easily fell back asleep. Having Fuji present gave off this safe feeling which calmed Ryoma's shaken mind. Ryoma was at finally at ease, though, he knew that it wouldn't last forever.

**NOTE:**** Chapter two is completed! No cliffhanger this time around. Haha. I'm very content with how this chapter came out, and it made me feel better about myself. I was having a really bad day because of a review I got for another one of my fics. The review kind of hurt me, and it actually made me feel as if I failed as a writer. I'm not going to ramble on about that thought because people don't really need to know about it.**

**I'm trying to get back on track and update all my fics regularly. The next update for this fic will come no later than Tuesday (January 26****th****). All of my fics will be updated about once a week. I want to point out that I have a poll in my profile that I would like you all to vote on. It's for the next fic for me to start. I will take the poll down on January 25****th**** because that's when I plan on starting my next fic.**

**I'm sure you all can tell what has happened to Ryoma. I didn't know what people would think if I brought this topic in. I'm not afraid to write about anything, so there isn't really any subject that I don't mind touching on. Anyways, I'm just going to say this now. Ryoma was raped. If you do not like this topic, please tell me. If I have a lot of people saying they won't read this fic because of the subject of rape, I will change it. I can easily make it where he was instead beaten by some random stranger. I personally don't think there is anything wrong with talking about this topic. I actually made this the main subject of my novel (that I do plan on trying to get published once I'm finished editing it). I want to keep all my readers happy, so please tell me your opinion. If don't want to review, you can just message me.**

**I'd also like to mention that it took me about two minutes to spell "drawer". That is officially on my "I don't like this word" list. Oh, I've also always wanted to use the word melancholy, but I never did so before. I'm pretty sure I used it right. If I didn't, please make sure to tell me.**

**As a writer, my goal is to make people feel for these characters…not just to read this story. I know that when I write I am always hurting (or going through any emotion) when the character is. I'm sorry if I'm not doing a good job. I will try my hardest to get better…**

**I'm happy that you have stopped by to read this chapter. It means a lot to me. Thank you for the wonderful reviews. It's you all who make me know I must be doing something right. I hope you'll continue to support me. Thank you~!**


	3. Chapter 3

As the sun rose from the horizon, Ryoma found himself waking up. Sitting up, he pulled his knees up against his chest and wrapped his arms around his legs. Taking a quick glance over at Fuji who still slept peacefully, he decided to stay there quietly. Though, in the silence, Ryoma could feel himself begin to shake as tears formed in his honey-brown eyes. The memories of the night where his body was completely broken into flashed into his mind. All of the thoughts of him screaming for help and being pushed to the ground to do things against his will were things he just couldn't get rid of. No matter how hard he tried to forget, they still managed to creep their way back. Placing his head onto his knees, Ryoma tried the best he could to keep his sobbing silent.

"Echizen?" Fuji's eyes opened as he turned to face the boy. Right as he saw Ryoma clinging to himself, he sat up. "What's wrong?"

"I'm fine," his voice was muffled from how he sat.

Reaching next to him, Fuji let his hand gently lift Ryoma's head. With the thin fingers from his right hand, he brushed the salty tears from the boy's cheek making him flinch. "How can you say that when you're crying?"

"My whole body aches, Fuji-senpai, and no matter how many times I wash myself, I still feel so dirty," he looked up at Fuji but quickly averted his eyes towards his hands. "Did I do something to deserve this? I just wanted to get home safely…I didn't think anything would happen. Am I to blame? Was there something more I could have done to make him stop? Were my screams not loud enough? I kicked, I screamed, but it was useless. He wouldn't stop."

"You can't blame yourself, Echizen. There was no way for you to predict this to happen. The only person to blame is the sick man who thought it was right to rape a twelve year old."

The words that came out of Fuji's mouth made Ryoma cringe. "Just hearing that word makes me quiver. I don't want to talk about it anymore."

"If you don't express the way you feel, you're just going to get yourself hurt," he stopped for a second as if trying to figure out just the right thing to say. "I won't force you though. Just remember that I'm willing to listen to you. I can't possibly know how it would feel to be in your position, but I want you to know that I will support you. No matter what, I'll be here for you."

"I just wish there was something we could do…something…anything, but I can't even remember what the man looked like. No matter how hard I try to remember his face, I can't picture anything other than the hard, cement ground."

"Why didn't you go to the police? Even if your family didn't believe you, you could have gone on your own."

"If they didn't believe me…I didn't think anyone would."

Fuji shook his head in disbelief. "Right when I saw you standing outside my door in the pouring rain, I could tell your weren't the same. You're their son…how could they not believe you?"

Ryoma didn't reply to the older boy. He only closed his eyes and let himself fall back in the bed. Placing his hands over his stomach, he let out a moaning sound as if something was wrong.

"Are you ok?"

"I feel like I'm going to be sick," he mumbled.

Getting off the bed, Fuji hurried to the other side. Helping Ryoma up, the two of them stumbled their way down the hall and into the bathroom.

* * *

Ryoma sat on the floor near the toilet and continued to hold his stomach. Fuji placed himself behind the boy and let his hand rub lightly up and down his back. When he heard Ryoma beginning to cough, he got up and filled the small cup that sat on the sink with water. Handing it to Ryoma, he swished the water in his mouth and spat it out into the toilet.

"Do you feel a little better now?" Fuji questioned as he took the cup back.

"I guess," getting onto his feet, Ryoma cleaned off his face at the sink.

Fuji touched his hand against Ryoma's forehead. He could feel that the boy was warmer than usual. "Maybe you should rest a little bit more."

"I'm not tired."

"Echizen, it's barely morning. You haven't slept that much at all. With you being out in the rain all yesterday, right now you need rest," he stared into Ryoma's eyes and noticed the loneliness in them. "I'll be next to you the whole time, so there's nothing you need to worry about."

"Maybe you're right…"

* * *

Both of them returned to the hall and into Fuji's bedroom. When they laid back in the bed, Fuji made sure to face the younger boy. He watched as Ryoma curled himself into a ball as if trying to protect himself from the world around him. Seeing him in this state placed an ache in Fuji's heart. There was no reason for a person Ryoma's age to feel so broken, alone, and scared. This made him all the more willing to stay right by his side until he knew Ryoma was ready to return to the life he once lived.

**NOTE:**** Chapter three is complete. For some reason, I feel bad for saying this, but I felt really comfortable writing this chapter. I don't know why, but writing things like this seems to come natural to me. I mean, I could easily make this fic fifty plus pages if I wanted to. I don't know how long this fic will go onto be, but I'm just saying that it could be my longest thus far (I wonder if it might even become more popular than "The Fallen Prince" because nothing has beaten that it seems.).**

**I want to mention something real quick. I've gotten some reviews basically saying that you all like how I've given Ryoma all these emotions and such. I don't remember getting anything saying he's out of character. If anyone even starts to think he is, it's not true. Yes, it's true that he's not his normal, cocky self, but what I'm doing to his character actually fits. If you don't believe me, go look up rape trauma syndrome (RTS). Believe me, this might be the first time I brought this subject up in a fanfic, but I've written with the subject of rape…um…I think I'll be going on my fourth time when I write one of my next novels. Though, if you don't trust that I know what I'm writing about, go look up RTS.**

**Now, is this fic ok with just being rated T? I mean, I don't plan on going into complete detail of the rape. If you guys think I should raise the rating to M, could you tell me? I'm really unsure about it.**

**Again, please don't hate me or send me rude reviews about the topic. No one said anything against it, so no one who has read the fic so far seems to mind. It's life. Things like this happen all the time. I'm actually going to quote part of EchizenRyomaLover's review: "Rape is a reality, even if we don't want to accept it. Perhaps this fic can help in making us more aware of it." That actually, to me, defines basically what I want to do with my writing (not my fics, my novel writing). I don't want to hide behind sweet love stories. I want to show that we can't hide from reality. We live in a cruel world and we need to accept the things that are happening around us. If we just hide from it, how can we make anything better? I'm rambling about that. I should save it for my blog.**

**I do have a new poll up in my profile. If you haven't seen it yet, go check it out. I also have a new fic called "I'm Not Broken" out (KaidouXRyoma). If you're interested, you should go read that as well. The next update will be Monday (February 1****st****). Also, an update might look a day late, but that's just because I'm posting it at one or two in the morning (I write better at night.). Oh, quick, for those that couldn't figure it out, yes, Ryoma did throw up in the bathroom. I just couldn't get myself to go into detail about it.**

**I'm looking forward to writing the next part, so I sure hope everyone is looking forward to reading it. You all have given me a great confidence boost, and I am personally perfectly happy with how this chapter came out. Thank you all for supporting me. I can't even express how it makes me feel knowing that people are reading and enjoying what I've written. Thank you for everything~!**


	4. Chapter 4

"Syusuke!" a woman's voice called from the hallway. "Don't you have tennis practice today?"

"Hmm?" Fuji slowly opened his eyes. Turning over, he stared at the clock. Noticing that there was only twenty minutes until he had to be at the school, he threw his covers off of himself.

"Nn!" Ryoma rolled onto his back. The shirt he wore was pulled up and let his stomach show.

"Echizen," the older boy softly nudged his shoulder. "We have to get going."

"Just five more minutes…"

"Tezuka's going to make us run laps if we're late."

Reaching his arms up, he rubbed his eyes. "I don't have my tennis outfit."

"Then, we'll have to stop by your house and grab it," Fuji got off the bed and headed for his dresser. "You're not getting up, are you?"

"I don't want to go back there," Ryoma sat up and watched as Fuji dug around the drawers of his brown dresser for the clothes he wished to wear. "I thought I didn't have to."

"You can't stay from there forever. Despite the fact that they don't believe what you have told them, they're your family."

"You are making me go back there," he faintly said as he bit his lower lip. "Fuji-senpai…I…please don't make me…"

"What are you going to do then, Echizen? Are you just going to run the streets with no place to live?"

"I was hoping that…that I could…stay with…you…"

Fuji stopped what he was doing and turned to the boy. "Why here, Echizen? Why did you pick to come to my house? Was it just the closest place to come?"

"I don't know," tears had begun to fall down his cheeks. "For some reason…I felt like you would…understand."

"Echizen," Fuji sat next to Ryoma. He was shocked when the boy instantly fell into his arms. "My mom will start questioning things if you don't go home."

"I'm scared," Ryoma voice was muffled from him having his face in Fuji's chest. "I don't know what others will think. I don't want them to think I'm weak. Please, senpai, just a little bit longer. It doesn't matter what you make up to have it allowed…I just can't go back there."

"Is there something else you haven't told me? Is there more to what happened to you?"

"…no…"

"You're lying," Fuji pulled away. Right when he looked at Ryoma, the younger boy avoided eye contact. "Echizen, you can trust me with whatever else happened. I won't hurt you like that man did."

"That man…he was…m―"

"Syusuke! You better hurry up!" once again his mother called to him.

Knowing what Ryoma was going to tell him, Fuji quickly went back to his dresser. He grabbed for a small pair of black shorts and a light blue shirt. "You can wear this for practice. I have a racket you can use as well."

"Senpai…" Ryoma mumbled as he took the clothes.

"If anyone asks, just tell them that your tennis outfit is dirty and you forgot to have it washed."

"Thank you," he replaced the clothing he was given the night before with the new ones. "What I was…going to say before…uh…"

"Don't worry about it," Fuji placed a smile on his face. "After practice, we'll go get you the things you need from your house. I'll figure out something to tell my mom later."

* * *

After the two of them finished getting ready for the day, they headed out the room. Saying their goodbyes to Fuji's mother, they left the house together. As Ryoma walked next to Fuji, he darted his eyes back and forth as if trying to make sure nothing and no one would come out of nowhere. Seeing the fear that Ryoma had, Fuji placed his hand on Ryoma's shoulder. Although he jumped at first, Ryoma seemed comforted knowing that the older boy was by his side. Though he seemed relieved at that point, Fuji wondered how he would react with the whole tennis team around. Ryoma wouldn't be able to hide his fears from everyone no matter how hard he was to try.

**NOTE:**** That man…he was? Hmm…who knows? I know who the man was. If you ask if the man is -insert name here- in a review, I will not tell you if you're right. That would just ruin it. I mean, I'm sure you probably could all guess and get it right (Am I that predictable in my fics?). I do realize this chapter is short. I didn't want to start the part where they're at tennis practice because it would have become too long for my taste. Don't worry though. I changed the date for when I'll update this fic, so you only have to wait until Sunday (February 7****th****). That's not that long if you think about it. I could make you wait a month instead. Aww…that would be mean though!**

**I think I forgot to mention this in prior chapters, and I've been wanting to. When I first came up with this fic, Ryoma wasn't supposed to have been raped. Originally I was thinking he didn't want to go back home because there was indeed no one for him to go back to. Either his parents were in a car crash or his house burned down…things like that. Would you all like this fic if I had kept one of those ideas? I don't think I would have liked writing this as much if I did.**

**Also, this was pretty awesome to me. The chapter two and three had the same word count (from what Fanfiction says). I thought that was so cool. I don't think that has ever happened before. Ah...I'm easily amused...  
**

**There's a new poll up in my profile. I mean, it's new…as in I just put it up (right before posting this chapter). Voting in it would be a good idea because you'll be helping me decide on the pairing of the fics I'll be writing. Don't you like helping people? I know you do, that's why you should help me. I'm going to stop with that now. Thanks.**

**Okay, well, I'm done here. I'll be back soon with another update for this fic. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter, and I can't wait to see you back here for the next one. Thank you all for reading; it means a lot to me. Now, I'm going to go scan this picture of Niou I doodled in between writing this chapter (I have to put color to it…and I want to play with my Photoshop trial…). Thanks again, everyone~!**


	5. Chapter 5

Right when Ryoma walked onto the courts, Eiji instantly went to grab hold of him. As the third year hugged him, the younger boy tried his hardest to pull away from his grip. Fuji, knowing that Ryoma was becoming scared, could only watch as he began to shake.

"Ochibi, you're not wearing your tennis uniform," Eiji whined as he slightly shook the boy.

"Dirty…" Ryoma barely mumbled as he quickly looked over towards Fuji. "It's dirty…I forgot to…wash it…"

Eiji let go of the boy and placed his hands on his shoulders. Lowering himself, he met with Ryoma's eyes. "You seem different."

"It's nothing," Ryoma avoided his gaze. He somehow managed to maneuver himself away from Eiji. "We should start practice…"

"Fuji, do you know what's going on with him?"

"It's not my place to tell people," Fuji watched as Ryoma fumbled to hold his racket.

"That's your racket and your clothes. Was he with you last night?" Eiji didn't seem to give up on his questioning.

"He spent the night."

"He's different."

"I know," Fuji shook his head as he continued to remain there with Eiji.

* * *

On the court where Ryoma stood, he seemed to be having issues with the game he loved to play. As he tossed the tennis ball into the air, he just watched as it came back down and bounced on the ground. Miss after miss, anger grew within his small body until he became so frustrated that he tossed the racket aside.

"I'm done!" Ryoma growled as he started to leave.

"Echizen!" Momoshiro, who he was playing against, jumped over the net and ran after him. "You can't just leave."

"This is frustrating. I don't feel like playing anymore," he crossed his arms and frowned.

"What's gotten in to you? This isn't how you normally acted. Did something happen?" he placed his hand on Ryoma's shoulder.

Ryoma jerked away from his touch. "Momo-senpai…you could have…you could have prevented this…"

"What are you talking about, Echizen?"

"Just leave me alone!" his voice cracked as he fell to his knees. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he held him body low to the ground.

The piercing cry Ryoma let out caused the entire tennis team to rush over to him. Momoshiro took a few step backs as he saw Tezuka and Oishi bend down to Ryoma's level. The others simply watched in awe. No one ever thought they would see the young boy in tears nor as broken as he seemed.

"Echizen, are you alright?" Oishi let his hand rub up and down the boy's back. "If there's something wrong, you can tell us."

"I'm fine," Ryoma uttered through his sobbing.

"You―" he stopped when Tezuka placed his hand in front of him.

"Echizen, maybe it would be best if you go home for the day," Tezuka suggested.

Ryoma quickly sat back up which nearly knocked Oishi backwards. "I won't go back there!" Right as the words slipped out, he slapped his hands against his mouth.

"Why is that?"

He darted his eyes between Tezuka and Oishi. Getting back onto his feet, he wobbled his way to where the racket laid on the ground. Going back towards the captain, he let out a sigh. "I'm going…"

As Ryoma started to walk beyond the fenced area, Fuji had finally realized what was happening. He knew that Ryoma wasn't going back to his own house. There was no way he'd step foot back in that place without someone he trusted by his side. Not willing to wait to think things through, Fuji raced out of the tennis courts and after the small boy.

"Fuji!" Tezuka called for him, but he wasn't listening.

Eiji made his way towards Tezuka and frowned. "Something happened to Ochibi, and I think Fuji is the only one that knows what that something is."

"Everyone, get back to practice," Tezuka ordered as he stared down the path the two boys took. He knew they were long gone by now, and there was no way that they would come back today.

* * *

"Echizen!" Fuji, finally catching up to the boy, grabbed onto his wrist. This only made Ryoma scream until he noticed who was holding onto him.

"What are you doing here?" Ryoma's voice was nothing more than a whisper.

"I couldn't get myself to just let you leave like that. Lets go get your clothes and then we'll go back to mine."

"I don't want them to know," he turned to face Fuji. "Don't let them know."

"I won't tell anyone, Echizen. The things you've trusted me with will always be kept between the two of us," Fuji patted the soft hair on Ryoma's head. "I promise."

"I guess it'll be ok as long as you're with me," he slightly swayed to the side. "What will I tell them?"

"Does that even matter to you?"

"No…"

Fuji extended his arm out. "Then, it's not something we need to worry about."

"…I guess…" uncertain of what he wanted to do, Ryoma slowly placed his quivering hand in Fuji's. Together they made their way down the road towards the Echizen residence.

**NOTE:**** What is this? Another chapter? I told myself that if I received a total of five reviews before I woke up in the morning, I would write another chapter for this fic. Did you like this small surprise? Don't worry, I will still update come February 7****th****. I want to mention something, the man is not Ryoga. I know I said I wasn't going to tell you if you all were right or wrong, but I just had to say that. I barely know anything about Ryoga other than he's Ryoma's adopted brother or something like that. I'm still working on watching all the anime, so I don't really know the anime only characters (I've read the whole manga, but I'm still working on the anime.). I'm actually really interested in all the guesses people have as to who Mister Rapist was.**

**Anyways, the next update will be where they go to Ryoma's house. That'll be fun to write. Oh, and I don't think I've ever mentioned this before in anything I've written. I don't know if you can tell, but I hate plotting things out. I have a basic idea of what I want to happen, but I usually just write whatever comes to me first. Unlike some writers, I don't know what's going to happen in the end until very close to the end (or something happens that makes me realize what should happen). I just thought everyone should know that (You all probably don't care.).**

**Ah, I changed my profile icon. I think I mentioned the Niou picture I doodled in the last chapter. Yeah, I sort of liked how he turned out, so I've been changing my icon on every website to that. Since I'm talking about Niou, I can mention that I want to write a fic with Niou in it. If you all haven't noticed, I shy away from the characters that aren't from Seigaku. Not anymore! I will start to write for other characters too (I have an AtobeXRyoma fic planned for those who like that pairing along with a YuutaXRyoma fic. I never thought I would want to write either of those pairings.). Though, I seem to have a good amount of FujiXRyoma fics planned. Seriously, you think I'm not capable of writing for other pairings? Or do you all even like other pairings? Sorry, I don't do TezukaXFuji or TezukaXRyoma (or OishiXEiji). They're just not my thing.**

**Okay, I'm rambling about nothing again. I hope you all are happy with this surprise update. The next chapter is coming soon. We'll see each other then, right? Thank you for reading, supporting me, and being the awesome people you are. I'm thinking that the next chapter is going to be a little more dramatic and…I'm not sure…hurtful? We'll just have to wait and see. Thank you for your time~!**

**(P.S. Oh! This was chapter five! Exciting! Lets go for five more…and make them even better. Right?)**


	6. Chapter 6

**NOTE:**** I just wanted to mention real quickly that the rating on this fic was changed from "T" to "M" due to what happens in this chapter. I did this just to be on the safe side. Thank you for reading~!**

When Fuji and Ryoma found themselves outside of the Echizen residence, the younger boy's body began to shake. With every step that they took, he moved slower and slower until he stopped completely in front of the door. Placing his hand on the knob, he turned it and opened the door. Peering in, he didn't notice anyone in the house.

"I'll go get the things I need. You can stay here because I'll make it quick," Ryoma rushed up the stairs.

Fuji looked around the room. Everything was a complete mess with garbage on the floor and pictures that would usually hang on the wall were cracked. The sight put a pain in his heart because no one should have to live in these conditions. Taking a seat on the small couch, he let out a sigh and waited for Ryoma to come back down.

* * *

Up in Ryoma's room, the small boy began to gather his clothing into a bag. He pulled his cap from the side of his bed and placed it over his hair. Rushing around, he tripped over his on foot and landed face first into the floor.

"That's a nice position for you, Ryoma."

Ryoma, shocked from hearing the voice, got up and turned to see the man standing in the doorway. "Dad…"

"I was worried when you didn't come home last night," Nanjiro staggered his way closer to his son. "I even bought you a present." He tossed a magazine at the young boy.

"What?" Ryoma looked down to notice that it was just another one of the old man's porn books. He let it drop out of his hands. "I…I don't want those…types of things."

"Really? You seemed to enjoy looking at them a few nights ago."

He zipped the bag that sat on his bed and threw it over his shoulder. "I'm leaving."

"Where do you think you're going? Running away from home?" Nanjiro stood where Ryoma couldn't slip past him. "I was angry when I couldn't find you last night. We have some unfinished business."

"Leave…leave me alone…"

Nanjiro placed his hand under his son's chin and forced him closer. "That's no way to talk to your father."

"Y-you're not…not even a good…father," Ryoma tried to keep his tears from falling down his cheeks.

"Ryoma, this is just punishment for you being a naughty son."

"I…I d-don't want this," he closed his eyes as the man's lips came closer to his. He could feel Nanjiro's free hand slipping down the side of his body; going after his shorts. "N…no…"

All of a sudden, Ryoma found himself pinned to the ground with his own father stripping him from his clothing. Only being able to cry and gasp from the man's touch, he had no strength to fight him off. He knew that the only person that could save him was his teammate that sat down in the living room. If only Ryoma could find his voice to have the ability to yell out in pain. Even after being violently tossed onto his stomach, he just couldn't get himself to say a word. No matter how much he wanted to scream, at the same time, he didn't want anyone to see the way he looked right now.

"Ryoma, don't worry, I'll be gentle this time," Nanjiro caressed the boy's leg and light kissed it. "Doesn't it make you feel good? Aren't you excited?"

Ryoma didn't reply; he just continued to lie there as his father did as he pleased. Though, through Nanjiro's aggressive thrusting and the moaning he couldn't help but make, Ryoma heard footsteps coming from the hallway.

"Senpai―!" Ryoma's voice cracked as he screamed in complete agony.

Fuji, hearing Ryoma's call, raced to the room where he saw Nanjiro violating his son. Even with being smaller than the older man, Fuji pushed him away and grabbed for Ryoma's bare body.

"Where did you come from?" Nanjiro got onto his feet and pulled his pants back up. "What do you think you're doing?"

"What do I think I'm doing?" Fuji opened his eyes to show their icy blue color. His grip around Ryoma grew tighter to try and make him know that he wouldn't hurt the young boy. "You're the one who should be answering that! You have no right doing this to an innocent child. I don't care what your sick reasoning may be, but to take your own son and strip him down to his bare skin is disturbing. For you take away his innocence and treat him like your own play thing is not what a father should do. You should be treating him with kindness and teaching him things he needs to know. I can't believe a parent would even dare to break his own child. How could you do this to him? How can you sleep at night knowing that you've completely ruined your son? You pedophile!"

Nanjiro, aggravated, took the collar of Fuji's shirt in his hand forcing him to let go of Ryoma. "You have no right telling me what I should and shouldn't be doing. You don't know what has happened in this house. Ryoma wanted this anyways…he asked for it."

"Liar!" Fuji growled. "He would never ask for this. You're the perverted old man who decided if you could get some you'd take it from your son!"

Ryoma crawled his way towards his nightstand and took his cell phone from off of it. Dialing a number into it while his father and Fuji continued to yell, someone picked up. All he could manage to say before passing out was "My father raped me."

After hearing those words slip from the boy's mouth, Nanjiro ran for it. Fuji tried to chase him, but he couldn't keep up as he watched the man run down the street. He heard the sirens coming from the road, and he knew that it was going to be a long and uncomfortable night for Ryoma.

**NOTE:**** There, you know who Mister Rapist is. Hate me for making it Nanjiro. I don't care. How many people guessed him? I think some people though it was going to be Momoshiro. I didn't want that because I'm using Momoshiro for another reason in the fic. For a clue on what I mean, think of the part where Ryoma says to Momo that he could have prevented this from happening (chapter 5). Again, I've brought in something to this fic that people might feel uncomfortable with, but I hope you'll continue to read the fic anyways. I wonder how many people will dislike me for writing these types of things…**

**Anyways, I actually had a hard time writing the last portion of this chapter where Ryoma calls the police on his father. I don't usually get into my personal life, but the reason was because I've had to call the police on my own father a few times in my life. I didn't think it would hurt so much writing those words, but I guess it's because the relationship I had with my father went kind of downhill around six months before he passed away. The reason why I'm saying this is because I want you all to know that in a way I do understand what is happening to Ryoma. In this particular fanfic, I can honestly say that I have had to deal with these types of problems. I've been in Fuji's position where a friend has come to me because she was raped by her own father. I can understand what it feels like to be completely broken and feel as if nothing will go right. Despite the fact that I may have never been in the situations I've put these characters in, I know what they're going through. I don't want to bore you all with all of this, so I just want to say that I cannot stress enough that you should continue to read this fic even if you're slightly uncomfortable with it. Learning about these things, dealing with the pain, and figuring out who you are…it's what I write. It's my life. Even if it's just one person that finds the message I'm giving within my fics and writing, it's a beautiful thing.**

**Sorry, I've rambled on about depressing things. I've been really stressed out lately because I have a doctor's appointment on February 8****th****. I might have a rather serious health problem, but I'm going to do my best to continue to update no matter what. You all probably don't care about my actual life though. I don't blame you. Does anyone really care about who the writer is? Maybe you all care more about the fic. I see, I see. Bleh…more rambling. Sorry.**

**The next update for this fic is Monday (February 15****th****). I have two free days this week that I have no plans for, so you might get another surprise update. Though, I've been behind my schedule, so you might not get a surprise update. You'll just have to wait and see. I have 19 new fics planned out. I would like you all to go to my profile and vote for which fic I should start next (you can vote for two). All information about the fics can be found on my profile. There are a few different pairings that I haven't written for, but if you're a FujiXRyoma fan and that's it, you'll be happy to know that most of the new fics are for said pairing (There are a few that even have other topics that I really enjoy writing about.). Please, please, please vote. I mean, come on, you'll be helping to decide what fic will come next. How awesome is that?**

**Anyways, I'm getting tired and I've rambled on for way too long. Thank you for reading this chapter. I hope you will continue to read this fic despite the fact that Nanjiro is the bad guy. It means a lot that you all read my fics. Please continue to support me~!**


	7. Chapter 7

In a small, white room, Ryoma laid with his eyes closed on a bed. Stuck in the skin of his right arm was a needle from the IV that flowed a liquid into his body. A young woman marked a few things down on a chart and hung it at the end of the bed. As she walked out, she smiled at the brunette that came in. Hearing the door click closed, Ryoma let out a sigh.

"You're awake," Fuji held out a red bag. "I got you something."

The younger boy, after sitting up, reached out his arm and grabbed for it. "What made you do this?"

"I thought you would need a little something to put a smile on your face. Go on; open it."

Hesitantly, Ryoma peered into the bag. Placing his hand into it, he pulled out a purple can of soda. Putting it on the side-table, he mumbled, "Thanks."

"You don't like it?"

"I do," he avoided looking up at the tall boy. "What am I doing at the hospital? I remember picking up my phone...but...the rest is a blur..."

"You passed out. It was decided that you should come here and be looked at," Fuji sat on the edge of the bed. "Echizen, where is your mother?"

"Somewhere."

"Where?"

"I don't know," Ryoma focused his attention towards the needle in his arm. "She just left, and when she did, everything began to crumble." Tears tried to make their way down his cheeks, but he quickly wiped them away before they could. "My dad decided that it was my fault. He said that I was naughty and needed to be punished. It started with things I could handle like him shoving his dirty magazines in my face. Then, on that day after practice...he completely tore into me. If Momo-senpai had only walked home with me and stayed like he said he was going to, things could have been different."

"Why didn't you go to the police when it first happened?" Fuji watched as the boy played with his fingers.

"For the same reason I didn't tell you," he stared into Fuji's eyes. "I didn't want people to know what he did to me. It's embarrassing."

"Embarrassing? Don't you think your safety is a little more important?"

"That's why I decided to come to you. I thought..." Ryoma shook his head. "Nevermind. Do you know when I can leave?"

"I was told that a police officer was going to come and talk to you once you've woken up," he rose to his feet and headed towards the door. "I'll go tell the doctor that you're awake now." Fuji, without looking back, walked out.

Ryoma took the clear tube of the IV in his hand as if he was thinking of ripping it out of his arm. Instead, he released it and fell back in the white bed with the salty tears he tried so hard to hold back dripping down his soft cheeks.

* * *

After about ten minutes had past, the door leading to the small, white room that held Ryoma once again clicked open. Right when he head it, he almost jumped up; it was a noise he'd been waiting for. Though, he was disappointed to see a tall man instead of Fuji.

"Echizen Ryoma-kun, I'd like to talk to you about some things," the man walked over to the bedside. "I heard what happened to you, and I want you to know that we're going to do what ever it takes to find you father." When Ryoma didn't reply, he decided to continue on. "There is a small problem though. I was told that you only lived with your dad and that you don't know where your mom is. Is that true?"

Ryoma only nodded his head in response. He showed little interest in the conversation.

"I see. Well, since you have no other relatives around this area, we'll have to put you up with foster family for the time being."

"Fuji-senpai said I could stay with him," Ryoma's words were barely audible.

"What did you say?"

Ryoma quickly got off of the bed. When he tried to run out of the room, he tripped and pulled the needle out of his arm. The sharp pain it sent through his arm made him cringe.

"Ryoma-kun," the man rushed to his side, but right as he placed his hand on the boy's shoulder, he was pushed away.

"It's uncomfortable..." he uttered through his tears.

Fuji, along with the female nurse, walked into the room. The girl began to clean up the mess that was made by the fallen IV as Fuji sat himself in front of the quivering boy. The older man had already backed off as if he knew that Fuji was the only one that would be able to touch Ryoma without him jerking away.

"Are you ready to go back to my house?" Fuji whispered into his ear.

Ryoma tilted his head away and placed his hands on the ground. His entire body was quivering, and he couldn't figure out what was going on inside of him anymore. The trauma of being raped by his father was finally settling in his mind. "I want to go."

Fuji stood back up and dragged Ryoma up along side him. He turned to the man that looked at them dumbfound. "Echizen will be staying at my house for the time being. We have school and tennis practice tomorrow, but we'll be sure to stop by the police station afterwards."

The nurse scurried towards them. She gave Fuji a few pieces of paper with a sad smile painted on her face. "These are some things we'd like you to go over with Echizen-san. Please take good care of him, and if he seems to get worse or act strange, make sure to bring him back to the hospital so he can be properly treated."

"I will," he nodded while taking the papers. In the corner of the room, he found the bag Ryoma had packed. Placing it over his shoulder, he went back up to Ryoma and took his wrist. "Lets get going."

Ryoma didn't respond; he only continued to look forward with his glossy, tear-filled eyes. Fuji didn't force him to say anything nor did he try to start any sort of conversation. He just continued to walk out of the hospital and down the road towards his house. He knew that there was nothing at that moment that would snap Ryoma out of his trance. Ryoma was now nothing more than a broken child.

**NOTE:**** Sorry for the delay. I have been sick, and, for some reason, I don't like to write when I'm sick. I'm so behind on all of my updates. I'm glad I finally got something done though. It would have been done sooner, but my laptop kept freezing on me. I had to take all my writing off of it and hook up one of my desktop computers. Luckily I have a second laptop that somewhat works so I still have the internet. I'm actually not even typing on the program I usually use (I use Microsoft Word while on this desktop computer has OpenOffice.). I don't have my shedule ready for anymore updates, so lets go with February 23****rd**** for the next update. Sounds good, right?**

**Anyways, I was so angry that I was sick on Valentines Day. I was going to write some quick fics for a few of my favorite pairings. I guess I'll just wait for White Day. Though, the game I reserved comes out on that day. Hmm...I'll still get something done though. Yep! I'll do White Day fics!**

**For those that haven't yet, please vote in the poll on my profile. I want to have a lot of votes before deciding on what I'll write next. Speaking of what I'll write next, this fic here will soon be ending. Okay, I lie! It won't be ending any time soon. I haven't even brought in some major things I want to. I just wanted to say that.**

**I don't want to ramble too much because I have to get to sleep at some point (It's 5:20 in the morning here as I'm typing this.). I just want to mention that I enjoyed reading every review I received for the last chapter. Thank you so much for all of them. I'm sorry that I got all personal/emotion in my note last chapter. I do take things that happen in my life and things that I've dealt with and use them to help me with all my writing (fic or not). I don't know; I just like getting real personal with my writing in a way.**

**Enough of that though. Thanks for reading. I hope you'll come back for the next chapter. Please continue to support me~!**


	8. Chapter 8

Right when Fuji opened the door to his home, his mother greeted him with a warm smile. Though, when she noticed that the small boy who spent the night was still glued to his side, she let her concern show.

"Syusuke, is something going on?" she questioned as she eyed up the bag he held.

"I hope you don't mind, but I told Echizen he could stay with us for a little bit," Fuji looked down at Ryoma who continued to stare forward, emotionless.

"What happened?"

"Let me bring him up to my room. I'll come back down in a few minutes to explain everything," he rested his arm around Ryoma's shoulder and guided him up the stairs.

* * *

Up in his room, Fuji told Ryoma to sit down on the bed. Right when he turned around to leave, he felt his shirt being pulled at. Turning to look, he saw Ryoma's left hand clinging to the cloth.

"Senpai…"

"Stay here, Echizen; I'll be back," Fuji patted the top of Ryoma's head making him flinch. "I have to talk to my mom."

"Don't tell," Ryoma let go of the shirt. "Please."

Fuji lowered himself to be at eye level with the young boy. "I have to explain to her why you have to stay here."

"Lie."

"I can't, Echizen."

"Please, senpai! Don't tell her!" Ryoma's begging began to sound more like whining.

"I know that you don't want others to know what your father did to you, but if I don't let her know, you won't be able to stay here. If you can't stay here, you'll be sent off to a family that will have to be told what has happened. I promise you that she's the only person I'm going to tell. She won't bring it up to you; she won't ask you questions…I promise."

Ryoma averted his eyes. After a moment of staring down at the ground, he turned away and sat back on the bed.

"Echizen?" Fuji, not given a reply, walked out the door.

Left alone, Ryoma once again returned to his feet. He went to touch the cacti that laid on the window sill but remember what happened last time. Cringing back, he fell down with a thud. Darting his honey-brown eyes back and forth, the memories of the past few weeks quickly flashed through his mind. Pulling his arms around his knees, he vigorously shook.

* * *

In the living room, Fuji sat down next to his mother. She watched as he looked down at his hands. Letting out a sigh, he turned to her.

"Syusuke, what's going on?" she questioned. "Your friend, why will he be staying with us?"

"I promised that I'd only tell you. Mom, Echizen's father is a bad person…the type of person who would blame his son for things he couldn't have possibly done. That man," Fuji shook his head, "he raped Echizen."

"You're lying."

Fuji stared right into his mother's eyes. "I would never lie about such a thing."

"I see, but where is his mother?"

"Not sure; Echizen doesn't seem to know either."

"Is his father in jail?"

"No, he ran for it."

The woman put her hand on her son's back. "Syusuke, make sure Echizen-kun knows he can stay here as long as he needs to."

"Thanks M―"

"Aaaaahhhh!"

Right when Fuji heard the shriek coming from his room, he instantly jumped up and ran up the stairs. Almost tripping up them, he regained his balance as he threw open the door.

* * *

Peering in the room, Fuji saw Ryoma swinging his arms in front of him as if trying to defend himself from something that wasn't even there. His piercing screams continued as tears streams from his eyes. Trying to get to his feet, he fell right onto his face. This only made his screaming louder.

"Echizen!" Fuji flung himself beside the boy. Lifting him up, he pulled him close and wrapped his arms around him. "It's ok, Echizen…you have nothing to worry about. I won't let anyone hurt you. I promise!"

Losing all senses, he put all his weight against Fuji, forcing him to fall backwards. Placing his hands on Fuji's chest, Ryoma pushed himself up and stared down at the boy with rage in his eyes. "I won't…I won't let you get me…this time!"

"Echizen―!" Ryoma's fist made contact with Fuji's right cheek causing him to flinch. Confused by what might have caused the boy to act this way, Fuji knew he had to take action quick. Though, he could only do the first thing that came to him mind. Reaching his slender hand up, he swiped his palm against Ryoma's face.

"…senpai…" Ryoma wiped away the tears he cried with the back of his hand as he looked around.

"Feeling better?"

"I felt it…all of it as if it was happening again," he stood up with a frown painted on his face. "Sorry…"

"You don't have to apologize. Things are going to be hard, but lets do our best to get through it together," Fuji rose to his feet and poked at his red cheek.

"Our best?" Ryoma repeated.

"As long as you need someone by your side, I'll be there. We're friends, right? So it's only right for me to do such a thing."

"Sure."

"Mom should be cooking up something for dinner. Afterwards, I'll show you to the bathroom so you can clean up. Since Yuuta doesn't come home very often, I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you stay in his room."

"Fuji-senpai…um…" Ryoma turned away as if shy about what he was going to say. "I'd rather not be alone…"

"I don't mind sharing my room either," Fuji smiled as they headed out of the room and back down the stairs. _How long can we continue like this? That incident…that flashback you had…they could become dangerous. After seeing you, Ryoma, becoming some toy because your father can't handle the things that have happened, my mind is made up. I never want to see you be hurt in that way again. I promise…if there's nothing more I can do other than support you, I will.

* * *

_

After eating and bathing, the two boys found themselves once again in Fuji's room. Ryoma, wearing an overly large shirt due to not packing his own pajamas, placed himself on the bed. Without realizing it, he found himself on his side with his knees close to his chest. Noticing the small boy already asleep, Fuji pulled the covers over him. Sitting down on the empty side, he listened to Ryoma's rhythmic breathing. He couldn't help but wonder how things at school would be like after all of this. Now that the realization of what happened was set in Ryoma's mind, Fuji doubted he would be able to act as if nothing had ever happened. He could only wait for the next day to come and see what the it might bring.

**NOTE:**** Yeah, yeah, I know, I'm a day late for updating. Hey, at least I've been updating this fic (all the other fics have been neglected). Writer's block is terrible…especially this time around for me. Oh, but that's okay. I'm sure I'll get back up and running like I normally am soon. I do have an awesome scheduler on my laptop now, so I have dates set up for six more updates. The next update will be March 1****st****. Before I forget, I'd like to mention that in April I will be a little busy. I have Script Frenzy that I'm participating in, and I want to make sure I make the deadline. I'm guessing that this fic might continue on into April, so I'll do my best to update when the time comes.**

**Anyways, I got an external harddrive. This is very exciting for me because I was running out of space on my laptop. Now that I think about it, I have to write that fic for Fuji's birthday. Also, I noticed that the game I preordered comes out on March 14****th****. I better start writing my White Day fics early.**

**I remember what I wanted to mention. I received a review, but the person didn't sign it. It asked why my chapters are so short. So, if you're reading this, here's the answer. The chapters I write are usually 2 to 3 pages typed in Microsoft Word (Times New Roman, size 12). I don't like to bring in too many ideas per chapter, so I usually cut chapters between each day. Other times I stop a chapter before other events happen. I don't want to write too much per chapter, and I believe the amount I do write is good enough. I hope that helped answer that question (I enjoy answering questions.).**

**I wanted to say something about this chapter…uh…what was it again. Oh, right! When Ryoma punches Fuji, I was leaning towards two things that could have happened. One was where he hits Fuji and the other one was where Ryoma tries to seduce Fuji (thinking that it'll help him cope with what happened to him). Hmm…maybe I'll use that later on. I don't really know. Well, next chapter will be a school day. That means the Seigaku tennis team will be coming back into the fic…and Horio might have a brief moment too. I'm not too sure yet.**

**Okay, that's enough from me. Thank you all for the reviews. It always makes me happy getting to wake up to all of your nice reviews. I'm going to continue to work hard on this fic and all of my fics to come. I hope that I can become better at writing (and maybe one day shock all of you with some amazing writing skills). Please continue to support me~!**


	9. Chapter 9

Opening his eyes, Fuji sat up in the bed. Yawning, he looked down at Ryoma who peacefully slept beside him. He was facing the center of the bed with his arms wrapped around one of the smaller pillows from Fuji's bed. There was no sign of fear on his face at the moment. Even though Ryoma looked just like a normal twelve year old boy, Fuji knew that the gentle face he bore would soon show his insecurities.

Carefully, Fuji dragged his slender fingers against Ryoma's soft skin and moved stands of hair off his cheek. When he noticed Ryoma's eyes flicker open, he pulled away. "Good morning, Echizen."

Ryoma responded by jumping out of the bed and running out of the room.

"Echizen?" Fuji trailed behind him.

* * *

Down the hall, Fuji heard noises coming from the bathroom. Letting the door click open, he poked his head in to see Ryoma sitting with his head lingering over the toilet. Walking over to the sink, Fuji filled a small cup once again with water.

"Thanks," Ryoma swished the water around his mouth and spit it into the toilet.

"Morning sickness?" Fuji placed himself next to the boy.

"Not funny," he turned his head away.

"Ah, sorry. Are you feeling alright?"

Ryoma nodded as he got onto his feet. "We should get ready for school."

"Right…"

* * *

Returning to the bedroom, Ryoma went right to his bag. Digging through it, he pulled out his school uniform. He let out a sigh when he noticed that the clothes were completely wrinkled.

"I'll see if my mom will iron it," Fuji snatched the uniform away from Ryoma. Turning to the door, he took a step back when he saw his older sister, Yumiko, peering inside.

"Syusuke, good morning," she smiled towards Ryoma. "Good morning to you, too."

"Nee-chan," he looked down at the clothes he held in his hand and the back to his sister. "I'll be back; be nice to Echizen."

Yumiko watched as her brother walked out of the room and down the hallway. When she saw that he was out of sight, she turned her attention to the boy who sat on the floor. Placing herself next to him, she continued to smile. "Would you like to see what my tarot cards have to say?"

"Eh?" Ryoma blinked a few times.

"Syusuke says that I haven't been wrong yet."

"I'll pass," he tried to look somewhere else, but he could feel Yumiko's eyes watching him.

"Well, Echizen-kun, why are you over even though it's a school day?" her words, though they were said sweetly, pierced through Ryoma's heart.

"No reason."

"You're not a very talkative one," Yumiko stood back up and noticed that Ryoma was staring at the window sill. "I think cacti are a lot like Syusuke. Even though they look pretty, with one false move, they'll hurt you. Syusuke cares more about others than he does himself." She found her way back to the door. "You should be careful, Echizen-kun."

"Are you saying Fuji-senpai is going to hurt me?" Ryoma questioned.

"No, but I can see that you've been hurt and are trying to hide it."

"Did your tarot cards tell you that?"

"I don't need them to see that because it's written right on your face," without waiting for him to say another word, she left the room.

"This family is weird…" Ryoma mumbled.

* * *

After Fuji returned, the two of them changed into their school uniforms. Leaving the house, Ryoma avoided Yumiko's gaze. For some reason, it gave him a chill. Making their way down the road, the two of them made it to the school. Fuji watched as Ryoma left his side in search for his classroom. Knowing that he wouldn't be able to watch over him for those hours they are in school didn't only worry him; it put an ache in his heart.

* * *

Ryoma sat in his classroom and let his arms rest on top of his desk. He continued to tell himself that nothing bad was going to happen, but it didn't seem to help him. Even though he had come to school time and time again after his father would rape him, today was different. Sitting in that hospital room made him realize what had happened; his father's little game had become Ryoma's torture. Now that he had someone to talk to about what had happened, he could feel the painful emotions creeping up his spine. Though, he didn't realize that once he had that someone that would care for him, he would become so vulnerable when he wasn't around.

"Echizen," a hand waved in front of the boy's face. "Earth to Echizen."

"Huh?" Ryoma stared at the boy standing in front of him. "Horio?"

"Can you believe we have an English test today? I'm not prepared at all. Even though I study, I can see the bad marking I'm going to get already!" Horio bellowed making Ryoma slightly flinch. "Man, you're lucky; you always get good marks in English."

"I guess," his words were softer than usual.

"Hey, are you ok? You seem different."

"…I'm fine…"

* * *

The day continued with Ryoma avoiding most conversations Horio would start. When the final bell rang, he pulled the strap of his bag on his shoulder and rushed out of the classroom. Almost sprinting through the halls, he left the building and made his way to the tennis clubhouse. Opening the door, he stopped in his tracks when he noticed everyone who was in the room.

"Hey, Echizen," Momoshiro rose his arm up to greet the young boy. "Feeling better?"

Ryoma only nodded his head. He fixed his eyes to the ground until he found a free stop to change. As fast as he could, he stripped out of his school uniform and replaced it with his tennis outfit. For those few minutes that his bare skin was exposed, he felt as if anyone could take him and do as they please. He was uneasy when others saw him unclothed.

After everyone had changed, they headed out to the courts. Fuji walked a few feet behind Ryoma instead of right next to him in order to keep people from questioning why they're so close.

* * *

"Ochibi!" Eiji ran up to the boy with his arms wide open. Pulling Ryoma into his warm embrace, he began to laugh. "Is Ochibi better? You scared me when you ended up leaving practice early."

Ryoma knew that Eiji was his friend and wanted to believe that he would never harm him. It didn't matter what he thought, his body instantly responded to the touch. As his whole being began to quiver, Ryoma opened his mouth and let out a painful shriek.

Eiji removed his arms and stepped back. He had never seen Ryoma react this way when he greeted him with a hug before. Seeing tears streaming down the boy's cheeks and dripping from his chin, he became puzzled. This wasn't the Ryoma he knew; he was different.

"What's wrong, Ochibi?" Eiji tried to get his voice through to Ryoma, but it was impossible.

When Ryoma screamed again, the others ran to see what was happening. Eiji explained what he did, but couldn't find a reason behind anything. Fuji pushed through the others only to see Ryoma falling to his knees in an uncontrollable sob.

"Call for the nurse," Oishi pointed to the school building.

"No," Fuji shook his head. "Just, back up."

Everyone looked at Fuji but didn't respond to his demand. Though, when Tezuka took a few steps backwards, everyone followed. They stared at Fuji who sat on the ground next Ryoma. Placing his hand on the young boys back, he lightly rubbed it. Even if there were no words he could say to make Ryoma snap out of his trance, at least he could make him know he was still there to comfort him.

"Fuji, why don't you tell us what's going on?" Tezuka asked as he folded his arms against his chest.

"I can't…I promised Echizen that I wouldn't," Fuji continued to rub his hand on Ryoma's back. "It's not my place to tell people what has and hasn't happened in his life."

"Why?" Ryoma whispered through his crying. "Why do I all of a sudden feel so useless?"

"…Echizen…"

"He…he made me this way…didn't he?"

There were a few whispers from those watching him. They all knew that the person they were looking at now was no longer that cocky little first year who took the tennis team by surprise.

"It'll get better. You just have to give it some time," Fuji spoke softly to Ryoma. "Remember, I'm here if you need to talk about it."

"This is…embarrassing…" Ryoma turned to look at Fuji. "I…don't have any excuses I can make…"

"I think it's time that one of you told us what's going on," Tezuka was no longer asking questions; he was demanding.

"Tezuka, I don't think there's a need to pry into other people's business," Fuji got onto his feet and smiled.

"When it comes to this team, even if I have to pry to know what is going on, I will."

Ryoma reached his right arm up and tugged at Fuji's shorts. "I…I think I'm going to be sick."

Fuji took Ryoma over towards a bush knowing that he wouldn't be able to make it to the bathroom before threw up. He was becoming used to the disturbing sound Ryoma would making and the coughing afterwards. Seeing him becoming sick like this only made the pain in his heart worse.

"Here," Tezuka, who had followed them, handed Ryoma a bottle of water.

Ryoma once again filled his mouth with the liquid and spit it out onto the grass. "Thanks."

"I'm not going to ask again, but if this continues to be the way you become every time you get to practice, maybe it's best that you don't come."

"I'll be fine," he wiped his face. "I'll learn to control it."

"Control it?" Tezuka repeated.

"I think I might have caught a cold or something…"

"I'll go call your father to come pick you up."

"You can't!" Ryoma yelled. "I don't ever want to see that man again!" Before he could even finish his sentence, he could feel himself regretting the words he said.

Tezuka looked at Ryoma then at Fuji then back down to Ryoma. "I see. Fuji, bring Echizen home."

"Right," Fuji let his right arm hang over Ryoma's shoulders as he guided him away from the tennis courts.

"As long as Fuji knows what's happening, maybe everything will end in a good way…"

**NOTE:**** Yes, I realize that I was late updating once again. Hey, but I made this chapter longer that the previous ones, so maybe it was worth the extra wait. I enjoyed writing this chapter. I don't know why, but I did. I would like to mention that Yumiko only made a visit because I received a review from PriestessiofBast saying something about her, and then I realized that I…well…forgot about her. Which reminds me, I must apologize because I don't really know Yumiko or Yoshiko very well. I can only hope that I have them in character. I wanted to have Yumiko do a tarot card reading, but I don't know much about that, so I decided against it. Though, I really do like tarot cards and things like that, but I never had the chance to learn much because I live with my grandmother and she's totally against that type of stuff (I even went to a Renaissance Fair with her and my sister awhile back…I didn't even get to check out the things at this one booth because of her…).**

**Anyways, I have some other random things I want to say. First, I have these coffee flavored chocolates. Well, they're candy coated, and the candy coating tastes like coffee…yeah. Also, the reason why I was late on updating was I had an urge to find an MMORPG to play. Yeah, I really haven't found one yet. If anyone knows a good one (that is…hmm…free) message me. I'm currently just playing Fantasy Tennis because I love tennis. Finally, I would like to mention that I miss my black hair. Random, I know. I was brushing my hair and looking at it in the mirror when it finally sunk in that the black is almost all gone. The sad thing is, I have to dye it (with temporary dye) again in May so it matches Kamio Akira's hair color. The things I'll do for cosplaying…**

**Yeah, so who liked Fuji's random morning sickness question? I just had to put that in there because of a question I received awhile back from someone. I really couldn't help it. When Ryoma became sick during practice, I was going to have Eiji say something really stupid, but I decided against it (It was going to be something about Ryoma being pregnant…but I didn't want Eiji to seem that dumb.).**

**I think that's really all I wanted to say, so I'm going to end with this:**

**While I was writing this chapter, I all of a sudden realized random things that Yanagi Kotaro (this first Echizen Ryoma in the musicals) and Echizen Ryoma actually have in common. Both of them have birthdays in December (21****st**** and 24****th****), both know English, and both lived in America (Well, at least what I've read is that Yanagi went to an American boarding school…to me that sounds like he lived in America…maybe I'm wrong.).**

**Thank you so much for reading. There is still much more to come. The next update will be March 7****th****. Thanks for all the reviews and everything else. I hope you'll come back for the next chapter~!**


	10. Chapter 10

As the day's tennis practice came to a conclusion, Tezuka asked for Oishi to lock up the clubhouse. Leaving, he pulled out his cell phone as dialed the number to Ryoma's house. Pushing up his glasses, he listened to the ringing, but there was no answer.

"No one's home?" Tezuka questioned as he placed the phone back in his pocket. He found himself slowly walking down the path that led to the Echizen residence. See the house, Tezuka noticed that there wasn't a single light on. He knew that Fuji hadn't taken the young tennis player back to this place. Slowly, he walked up the door. Knocking on it, it creaked open. "Hello?" Tezuka peeked inside only to see the mess. Letting the door open more, he went inside to get a better look. There was glass broken on the floor and a chair turned over in the living room. Continuing around the house, he went up to Ryoma's room where he picked up the magazine the boy's father threw at him. With just a glance, he dropped it out of his hand. "What's been happening here?"

"Don't you know you shouldn't come into someone's house uninvited?"

Tezuka quickly turned himself to see a man standing in the doorway. "You're Echizen's father."

"Smart kid, aren't you?" Nanjiro laughed. "You wouldn't happen to know where my son is, would you?"

"What's going on here? How could you let your son live in this type of condition?"

"Punishment," he made his way closer to the composed boy and grabbed the magazine from the floor. "He's such a filthy child."

Tezuka took a few steps back and reached for his phone. "What happened to Echizen? He's not himself."

"So you do know where the boy is," Nanjiro pushed the boy against the wall. Tezuka cringed in pain from the pressure going onto his left arm. "Why don't you tell me where he is?"

His face stayed completely blank. There was no sign of fear to be found. "No."

"You're a stubborn one."

Tezuka took his phone a dialed a number into it, as he was about to hit the 'talk' button, the phone was dropped to the floor. Nanjiro placed more pressure against Tezuka's left arm causing him to yell in pain. As he fell in agony, Nanjiro raced to the door. Tezuka clutched onto his shoulder and watched the man flee.

"That man…" he rose to his feet with his phone. Hearing a sound from under Ryoma's bed, he removed the covers to see a ball of fur. "You're Echizen's cat."

"Nya," the cat weakly looked up at Tezuka.

Taking the cat in his right arm, Tezuka walked out of the room. Leaving the house, he didn't dare to look back.

* * *

At the Fuji residence, Ryoma sat at the kitchen table with papers spread out in front of him. With a pencil in his left hand, he scribbled down answers to his homework. Across from him, Fuji smiled as he watched the boy working.

"Fuji-senpai," Ryoma looked up from his papers. "Are you good with math?"

"I'm not the best, but I can try and help," Fuji moved himself to sit next to the young boy.

"Too bad Yuuta isn't here; mathematics is one of his favorite subjects," Fuji's mother placed two glasses of tea on the table for the boys. "Ryoma-chan, next time if you're not feeling well in the morning, tell me. There's no reason for you to push yourself too hard if you're ill."

"How did you know?" Ryoma turned to Fuji who just shook his head. "Then?"

"It was Yumiko," the woman busied herself at the stove. "I'll make sure to cook something that won't upset your stomach."

"Thank you," he mumbled and focused back at his homework. "Fuji-senpai, your sister is a little odd."

"Really? I hadn't noticed," Fuji laughed as the two of them went back to work.

* * *

After their homework was finished and dinner was eaten, Fuji and Ryoma made their way up to the second floor of the house. Fuji placed himself on his bed while Ryoma just stood there staring into his blue eyes.

"Why are you giving me that look, Echizen?" Fuji tilted his head to the left. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No," Ryoma's voice was soft. "Tezuka-buchou is going to start questioning things now that I said a stupid thing to him."

"I don't think Tezuka is like that. You shouldn't worry about it so much. We're all friends, right? Even if the team figures out what has happened to you, I don't think they'll judge you."

"Senpai, I don't understand it…"

"Don't understand what?"

Ryoma walked towards the window. He let out a sigh. "Why did I react like that when Kikumaru-senpai hugged me? I told myself he's my friend and that he wouldn't do bad things to me, but I still screamed like he was going to hurt me. I don't understand why I do those things with other people…but I don't even think twice about running to your side. Why do I feel it's ok for you to touch me but no one else?"

"I'm like a security blanket to you," Fuji laced his fingers together. "I don't know why you came to me out of everyone else…but I feel as if you feel safe around me. Maybe it's because I was able to stop your father before he went too far once again. It's really unclear to me."

"Senpai, what's going to happen to me? What if I can't control what my body does?" Ryoma wiped his eyes. "I keep having these images flash in my head…and the nightmares I have at night make me sick to the stomach."

"I'll continue to be here to pull you out of that darkness, so you don't have to worry."

Ryoma wobbled his way to the bed and plopped himself down on his stomach. "My whole body aches when I think about what he did. Even though I know what he did was wrong, I can't help but feel like I'm supposed to forgive him."

"Why's that?" Fuji laid down next to the young boy.

"Because he's still my dad in the end. He taught me how to play tennis…and without him, I wouldn't be here."

"Echizen, don't ever think that that man deserve your forgiveness. The way he treated you shouldn't be given anything other than a life in jail. Anyways, you're loved more here."

"Loved more here?" he repeated.

"It's nothing…"

"Senpai, sometimes you confuse me too."

"It must run in my family."

"Yeah…" Ryoma laughed as his eye lids closed and he drifted off to sleep.

Fuji gently rubbed Ryoma's back to relax him. He pulled the covers over the small body and went to his phone that began to ring. "Hello?" There was a pause as Fuji shook his head. "We'll talk about it tomorrow, Tezuka. Bye." He placed the phone off to the side and gazed down at Ryoma. "The real nightmare might have just begun…"

**NOTE:**** Hello reader, thank you for finishing this chapter. How did you like it? Were you expecting it to start with Tezuka? Yeah, I know I wasn't until I got this random idea at some point today. I don't know, I kind of like what happened.**

**So, I have a few random things to talk to you about! First, I was bought seven new books. They're from the 1980s, and they're all in Japanese. I love the way they look on my bookshelf. Second, I found the university I would more than love to go to. Sadly, it's in Japan. I would just love to go to Waseda University though (Random fact about this university; Minami Keisuke, who was the 3****rd**** generation's Tezuka in the musicals, went to said school.). I don't think I'll ever get to go to this university though. Third, I have special side projects that I'm going to be working on. They're all a secret though…meaning no one knows about them (They are all Prince of Tennis related though.). Fourth, my website isn't loading for me. It's really annoying me because I'm trying to do updates. I wonder if it's just on my end or something else.**

**Okay, just a little more to say. As you all should probably know, my writing goes beyond fanfiction. I currently have some ideas for new novels to write (original, not fanfiction novels that is), but I don't know which one to start first. If anyone is interested, I'm looking for a few people who are willing to read my ideas (which are more like a few sentences) and possibly give me your thoughts on what you think of them and such. Just like in my fic writing, I focus on maleXmale relationships. I would also like some feedback on some of my current works (most of these are scripts that I would have animated…). If any of you are interested in giving me some feedback, please message me. I don't read much, so I have no clue if these things are overdone or anything. I need help…thank you~!**

**To end, I would like to say that I found a song that, to me, fits this fic. It's called "End of the World" and it's by Blake Lewis (Don't hate me for liking random artists. I mainly listen to Japanese music, so I'm not really up to date with music in English nor do I want to be with the subjects most music here in the States talk about.). I really want to draw something with this fic and that song…so lazy though. I'm going to try and do some art for this fic though (not much if any). Next update should be March 11****th****. Oh, I know what song I'm going to listen to over and over while writing the last chapter. It's "Your Guardian Angel" by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. That's another song that I feel goes well with this fic. I know that was rather random. I've gone on way too long with this note. Thank you so much for reading this chapter. I hope you'll come back for the next chapter and continue until the very end. Thank you so much for your support~!**

**(Chapter 10! We hit chapter 10! We should celebrate~!)**


	11. Chapter 11

Ryoma fluttered his eyes open and let out a soft sigh. Sitting up, he looked over Fuji to see the time. Quietly, he pulled the covers off of himself and got out of the bed. After staring at Fuji calmly sleeping, Ryoma turned away and left the room.

As he walked down the hall, he stopped at the bathroom. Shaking his head, he continued on until he reached the stairs. Slowly, he stepped down and reached the bottom. Darting his head back and forth, he headed towards the kitchen where he sat down at the table. Resting his head on his arms, he once again sighed.

"Can't sleep?" Yumiko pulled out the chair next to the boy causing his to quickly look up at her.

Ryoma avoided her eyes and instead stared down at his hands. "I guess."

The older girl smiled as she placed cards onto the table. "Lets see what the cards have to say."

"You're not going to let me get out of this, are you?"

"Not this time. Pick six cards," as Ryoma pointed to the different cards, Yumiko placed them in front of her. She scanned them and nodded.

"Are you going to tell me what all of this means?"

She pointed to the first card closest to Ryoma. "This card represents how you feel about yourself now. It is the Hierophant and shows that you feel a need for advice or wise council. The second card represents what you most want at this moment. The Tower card suggests that you want an easy solution to a problem. The third card represents your fears. The Empress says that you are feeling insecure. The fourth card represents what is going for you. This is the Judgement card and shows that a brand new potential will come and you must not ignore it because it will affect the rest of your life. The fifth card is the High Priestess and represents what is going against you. It tells that you're suffering from insecurity. Finally, the sixth card shows the outcome. This is the World card and it shows success, fulfillment, and conclusion."

"I'm still not that sure what any of that means," Ryoma stared down at the cards.

"Echizen-kun, something tragic has happened in your past which has caused you to withdraw yourself from people. The event or events made it you're insecure with yourself, and you just want an answer to the problem at hand. You're seeking advice to help you come to a solution. Syusuke is the person that you've come to for help, right?"

"You've figured that just from these cards?" he went back to looking at his now shaking hands.

Yumiko picked up the cards and held onto them. "I'm sure the conclusion to your tragic past will come soon." Getting out of the chair, she patted the boy on the shoulder only making him jerk away. Without saying another word, she walked of the kitchen and noted Fuji passing by.

"You're up early, Echizen," Fuji could hear the sobbing coming from Ryoma. "Did she say something that hurt you?"

"Fuji-senpai, has your sister ever done that weird tarot card thing for you?" Ryoma let his body sway in the chair.

"Yeah, a few times."

"Has she ever been wrong?"

"No. Why?"

"Am I just using you until I can stand up by myself again?"

Fuji quickly placed himself at Ryoma's level and took the young boy's face in his hands. "Why would you ever ask a thing like that?"

"Because if I'm just looking for an easily solution to this problem…then I'm just using you. I'm using you so I have the ability to stay sane when I think about how my own dad would strip me until I was naked and then rape me. I'm using you to express my insecurities so I don't have to hide from myself like I do at school. Senpai, I―" Ryoma froze and lost his words as Fuji let their foreheads touch. His whole body quivered, and his aching heart's beat grew rapidly. "I…senpai…"

"It's ok if you're just using me. As long as in the end it means you'll be able to become strong, I'll be happy."

Ryoma pulled his arms up around Fuji. His breathing was unsteady as he whispered in his ear, "Please stay by my side."

"Echizen," Fuji paused as he tried to find the right things to say. He couldn't tell if Ryoma had said such a thing because he was vulnerable or because he really did want Fuji to stay by him. "We should get ready for school."

Not responding, Ryoma pushed himself away and stood up. Not waiting for Fuji, he went back to the stairs and up to the second floor. Shaking his head, Fuji placed his hand on his chest. His cheeks had a slight pink tint to them, and he couldn't get rid of the sudden rush that was running through his heart. After a moment, he slowly walked back to his room where the two of them would get ready for the day.

**NOTE:**** I'm just going to start by explaining why this chapter is shorter than normal. First, I wasn't planning on putting this part into the fic. I decided to add it though, and I didn't want to go into the part where Fuji and Tezuka this chapter. Also, you all only have to wait about four days until the next update (March 23****rd****).**

**I liked writing this chapter. For the tarot card part, I literally did a reading for it, and that is what I got. I was a little shocked that I got the perfect reading the first time around. What did you all think of what I put in this chapter? Would you have rather I left it out and just went right into the conversation between Fuji and Tezuka?**

**I completely updated my profile. I know have the March update schedule up for all fics, my personal schedule for the year (which will probably have more added to it), special fics that I will write, and the birthday fics I'll write. I also came up with two knew fic ideas (thanks to EchizenRyomaLover), and I even put my own original story ideas at the end of my profile. Yeah, so I would check out my profile for any details on those things. I'm looking forward to starting new fics.  
My sister's husband bought me two new books. One is an anime techniques book and the other one is a manga drawing book. My stepfather also gave me this plate with a Chinese poem on it. I became slightly happy because I love these types of things.**

**Anyways, I don't have much else to say. I have to go write a chapter for "Without Sight". I will see you all on the 23****rd****, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. As always, thank you so much for reading~!**


	12. Chapter 12

Ryoma sat there in his desk at school with his head resting in his arms. He ignored the calls for him from Horio and jerked away when the other boy would nudge him. For some reason, he couldn't get his mind to wander from the thoughts of just using Fuji for nothing more than to be his support. Then all of a sudden a bigger question formed in his head; where would he go once he was strong enough to be on his own?

* * *

When the afternoon came, Fuji met with Tezuka outside of his classroom. There was silence between them for a few minutes until the crowd cleared from the hallway.

"How long has Echizen been staying with you?" Tezuka scanned Fuji's small framed body.

"A few days…since he came to my house in the pouring rain," Fuji seemed to be avoiding Tezuka's eyes. "It's not my place to tell you what has happened though."

"Echizen's father is wanted by the police. Fuji, there's no need for you to tell me anything, I know what has happened to Echizen," he crossed his arms. "I understand that you're concerned about Echizen, but maybe staying with you isn't what's best for him. It seems as if he's paranoid, and I think it would be a good idea if he was to get help."

"What's best for him is to be in a place he feels comfortable. He's put his trust in me, and I don't plan on abandoning him just because he becomes frightened. If all I can do is listen to him when he's feeling insecure, I will listen until he has nothing else to say. I refuse to let Echizen go even when he says things like he's just using me. And I promise you," Fuji's eyes flashed open showing their icy blue color, "Echizen's father will pay for what he has done."

"There's a deeper reason behind staying beside him, isn't there?"

A smile appeared on his face. "A reason that would be too much for Echizen to handle as of right now."

"You've taken him in, so you do realize he's now your responsibility."

"I know. There are still things that he's locking inside, and I want him to be able to reveal everything to me," Fuji leaned up against the wall. "I can't help but fear that after he's grown to no longer cringe at the past that he'll walk away from me. Is it wrong of me to want to stay by his side like he has pleaded me to do?"

"Life is a mysterious thing that we can do nothing but live," Tezuka pushed the frame of his glasses up with his middle finger. "Echizen doesn't seem like the type of person to just get up and leave when he can. Anyways, I would like you to ask your mother if it's ok for you to have a pet cat."

"Pet cat?" Fuji questioned as he became confused by the random change of subject.

"When I went to the Echizen residence, I found his cat and brought it home with me. I think having his cat back would make him feel a little bit more at home."

"You're such a softy, Tezuka. I'll ask her about it when I get home. I'm sure seeing Karupin would make Echizen happy."

Tezuka nodded as he looked up at the clock on the wall. "We should get back to class. I'll see you at practice."

"Right," Fuji watched Tezuka walk down the hall. He let out a sigh when he was out of sight. He couldn't think of a way to even begin to tell Ryoma that Tezuka had found out what happened to him.

* * *

Back in his classroom, Ryoma found himself scribbling random nonsense down in his notebook instead of the day's lesson. He continued to think about what had happened that morning. Being so easily read just by some cards placed on a table made him wonder what else Yumiko has already figured out about him. Did she know what possibilities the future held for him? Did she know the solution that would make him be able to stand on his own two feet without fearing what was to happen next? In the end, Ryoma could only come to the conclusion that Yumiko wasn't a bad person; there was just something creepy about her. That house that the Fuji's lived in felt like the safest place in the world to him, so he knew that those who stayed there were only filled with kindness. That family, even though he had only been there for a few days, had become more loving than his mother that abandoned him and his father that raped him.

_Why is it that I ran to Fuji-senpai though?_ Ryoma thoughts were continued to question more things. _I still can't come to a reason behind it. His house wasn't even the closest. I just…_

Ryoma placed his left hand up against his chest as he sunk low in his seat. His heart began to race as he remembered how Fuji's forehead softly touched up against his that morning. Though, his mind quickly switched from such a peaceful memory to those of his father's touch. Before he couldn't handle the memories, he raced his hand asking to go to the bathroom and rushed out of the classroom.

* * *

In the bathroom, Ryoma sat in one of the stalls holding himself close. His whole body was shaking as his sobbing became uncontrollable. He tried to tell himself that he was safe now that he was living with Fuji, but where he was now couldn't change what happened in the past. Wanting to scream, Ryoma bit his lower lip and stayed where he was until the final bell rang. Returning to his classroom, he lied saying that he had went to the nurse because he felt nauseous. Taking his bag in his hand, he ignored the calls for him from Horio and headed to the clubhouse. At that time, all he wanted was for the only person who was able to take the pain away to do so. Though, when Ryoma was to hear that Tezuka knew what happened, his reaction would be nothing less than a complete breakdown.

**NOTE:**** Hello loves (Yeah, that doesn't make me sound like some creepy writer). Welcome to chapter 12…or, well, the end of chapter 12. Look! Look! I wrote a good bit without any dialogue. That right there is a pretty big accomplishment! Before I go on about some things, the next update will be March 30****th****. I'm going to try my hardest to make it an awesome chapter because I might not update in April (I'll try to though.).**

**I would like to mention that Tezuka was originally going to say something about karma instead of something about Echizen not being that type of person. I didn't do this because I didn't know what religion Tezuka is. I didn't want to say something about karma if he was Christian because I don't know if Christians believe in it. I'm Buddhist so I don't really know anything of those religions (If it wasn't three in the morning, I would have asked my sister.). I would have loved to put my karma part in there, but I guess I won't.**

**Next, I want to say that I was shocked with the reviews talking about the tarot card reading. I didn't know that not many people put Yumiko's tarot card reading in fics (I say this because of secret25's review). Also, lajascot, you are welcome, though I'm the one who should be thanking you (and everyone else) for reading my fic. Oh! Guess what? I know the last thing I'm going to write for this fic. I'm in love with the very last sentences I came up with. Too bad we still have Ryoma's breakdown, Momoshiro blaming, Nanjiro finding, figuring out what happened to Ryoma's mom, and everything in between. I want to go for at least 20 chapters!**

**My mom and sister bought me two new videogames. As you all probably know, I'm a gamer (I love RPGs). My mom got me a tennis game for the Xbox 360 (which I have to use my sister's because I don't own one) and my sister got me Mana Khemia: Student Alliance for the PSP. I really wanted Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor, but I guess they didn't go to the only store that has it right now. I feel like such a loser talking about games…**

**Finally, when my other sister told me her and her husband are going to buy me a camcorder (because my other one is dead), I decided I wanted to vlog (video blog). I realized something today…I don't do much other than write. I eat, I write, I sleep, I shower. My life is so adventurous. I really wanted to do something interesting with the camcorder I'm going to be getting. This is lame.**

**Anyways, I'm done rambling. I hope you enjoyed this chapter because I know I always enjoy writing for you all. After this is posted, I'm going to get offline and play Mana Khemia. I will see you all back here on the 30****th****. Take care, and thank you so much for your support (at least I'm pretending you all are supporting me even if you aren't)~!**


	13. Chapter 13

After changing into his tennis uniform, Ryoma stood away from the others. He slightly swayed as he waited for them to leave. Though, when he heard footsteps coming up to him, he quickly lifted his head. Take a small step back, he straightened himself up.

"Echizen, I would like to have a word with you."

"What is it, Tezuka-buchou?" Ryoma stared at the taller boy with his honey-brown eyes. He tried his hardest to make sure he didn't act strange.

"Follow me," Tezuka turned around and walked towards the door.

As Ryoma followed behind him he scanned his surroundings with each step he took. He felt uneasy with being around Tezuka. It was never like this before, but an odd feeling crept up his spine as if telling him something bad was going to happen.

"If you feel like you don't have the ability to continue to play tennis, you should tell me," Tezuka watched as the young boy began to look more and more uncomfortable.

"What are you talking about? Why wouldn't I want to play tennis?" Ryoma's voice was a little shaky but still demanding.

"When tragic things happen, it can become hard to do daily activities. I will understand if you find it hard to play tennis."

Ryoma shook his head and swung around in fear of Tezuka seeing the tears that were forming. "I don't know what you're talking about!" Ryoma ran in the direction where Fuji stood. As the figure grew closer, it became blurry. Stopping, Ryoma placed his hands on top of his head as he fell to his knees with a piercing scream. Pulling at strands of his hair, he could feel himself losing against the pain. Like a video playing back, the memories of his mother walking out of the house flooded his mind following the numerous times his father stripped him bare. With this, his anger grew, and he was completely lost in the flashbacks.

"Echizen!" Fuji was the first to reach out for him, but Ryoma flung his arm forward forcing him away. It shocked him to be pushed away so quickly.

"If Momo-senpai would have come over," Ryoma softly mumbled through his crying. "If Mom wouldn't have left…if Dad was more of a father…"

"What's Echizen talking about?" Momoshiro lightly shook Fuji's shoulder as the others began to gather around the small boy.

Fuji looked over to his left and spotted Tezuka. He knew that he had said something to trigger this reaction from Ryoma. It didn't matter to him though. All he cared about was pulling Ryoma out of the darkness that he fell into. Wanting to comfort the boy, Fuji got onto his knees and proceeded to wrap his long arms around the quivering boy.

Ryoma tried to pull away. "Leave me alone!"

Those words stung Fuji's heart, but he refused to let go. As his grip grew tighter, he tried to fight the tears that formed in his eyes. Seeing Ryoma like this was more painful than he would have imagined. "I promise, Echizen, I won't hurt you. You're too important to me…"

"He's going to get me. Don't let him get me!"

"He won't get you. I won't ever let that man touch you ever again," Fuji softly whispered in Ryoma's ear. "Even if it's just until you can make it on your own…I'll be here for you."

"I…" Ryoma's eyes closed as he passed out from the stress being put onto his body.

"Ochibi!" Eiji yelled out. "Is he alright?"

"We should call for the nurse," Oishi tried to walk away but was stopped by Tezuka.

"Fuji, bring him back to the clubhouse. Watch over him until he wakes up. If Echizen is able to, have him run 10 laps before he goes home," Tezuka crossed his arms as he shifted towards the others. "Get back to practice."

* * *

In the clubhouse, Fuji placed Ryoma gently down on the floor. Touching his forehead with the back of his hand, he felt the heat the boy was giving off. His heavy breathing only concerned him more as he unzipped Ryoma's jacket. He could see the pain written all over Ryoma's pale face. Wrapping the jacket he had took off of Ryoma, he bundled it up into a ball. Slowly lifting his head up, he let Ryoma's head rest on the soft cloth.

_How much longer will you continue to be like this?_ Fuji thought as he let out a sigh. _With every tear you shed, my heart breaks more. The worst part is, I feel as if I won't be able to pull you out of the nightmare you continue to fall back into._

Lightly, Fuji brushed his hand against Ryoma's cheek. As he did, the boy's eyes slowly opened and stared up at the ceiling. There was no reaction from being touched. All Ryoma did was blink a few times.

"Are you feeling alright?" Fuji retreated his hand.

"Fuji-senpai," Ryoma's voice was shaky. He sat himself up and leaded against the wall as if he wouldn't be able to stay up without the support. "Can we go home?"

Fuji flashed his eyes open from the way Ryoma had worded his question. "Yeah."

"There's something I want to talk to you when we get back…"

He nodded as he helped the small boy off the ground. He took both of their bags because he knew Ryoma wouldn't be able to hold them. As they began to walk out of the room, Ryoma let his head rest up against Fuji's shoulder. Taking his free arm, Fuji wrapped in around Ryoma's waist to help hold up his limp body. With each step they took, Fuji found himself more and more curious about what exactly Ryoma wanted to talk about. Though, he would wait for him to speak up, because the last thing he wanted to do was pressure Ryoma into doing things against his will.

**NOTE:**** Sorry everyone, I'm a day late. Actually, I wanted to have an update on the 28****th**** and 31****st****. I guess that didn't really happen. As you all should know, starting tomorrow (April 1****st****) I will be participating in Script Frenzy. I will try to get another update for this fic out. I have no clue when that update will come, so I guess you all will just have to wait and see. I can tell you that it won't be the 1****st****, 4****th****, or 10****th**** of April because I will be way too busy those days.**

**I do want to mention that next chapter will include something about Ryoma's missing mother as well as some other things that I think I'll keep a secret. Oh, and I have to say this because EchizenRyomaLover brought it up in her review. I never noticed how much I use Tezuka to cause conflict (and drama) within my fics. "Need conflict? Add a dash of Tezuka to your fic today!"**

**I'm going to go. I have to finish the next chapter for "I'm Not Broke" (I'm behind.). I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and thank you for reading. I'll see you soon (hopefully) for the next chapter~!**


	14. Chapter 14

When Ryoma and Fuji walked into the house, Ryoma didn't even bother to greet Fuji's mother. He instead headed straight up the stairs. Fuji apologized for Ryoma's rude behavior and quickly followed the young boy to his room. Ryoma sat down on the floor with his back up against the bed.

"Echizen," Fuji paused for a moment as if he was uncertain of what he should say. "You should lay down. You were feverish earlier."

"I don't blame her for leaving…" Ryoma rested his legs across the floor. The smile that was placed on his face contradicted the sad look in his eyes. "I would have done the same thing."

"Are you talking about your mom?"

"She left because she could; I stayed because she wouldn't take me with her," he leaned forward slightly with his hands on the carpet. "She looked right at me before stepping out the door for the last time and told me to be strong. It was like she knew something bad was going to happen as soon as she walked away. She said that things would be better if she wasn't around…that we all needed our own time to grow and go different ways. Her thoughts were all wrong!"

"Echizen, do you know where she is? Do you know where she went to after she left the house?" Fuji stared deeply into Ryoma's eyes as if trying to read whatever the boy might be thinking at the time.

"…America…"

"America?" he repeated in disbelief. He continued to search Ryoma's face for anything that could help him understand how he felt. "Is there a way we can get a hold of her?"

"I don't know, and I don't care. She left me…she doesn't care about me," he bit his lower lip and let out what sounded almost like a whimper. "I don't want to be somewhere with a person who doesn't care."

Fuji sat in front of Ryoma and let himself creep closer until their faces were only inches apart. "I won't make you leave."

"Do you really care, Fuji-senpai, about me?" his breathing was heavy and he could feel his heart racing in his chest.

"I do."

"Senpai, you keep getting closer…"

The older boy noted Ryoma's blushing cheeks as his lips grew just an inch in front of Ryoma's. "I know…Echizen, I―"

"Syusuke~!" Yumiko poked her head into the boy's room.

Fuji instantly turned around and jumped up to see his sister. He tried to hide his shock by closing his eyes and placing his normal smile on his face. "Yes?"

"Did I come at a bad time?" she looked around his skinny figure and giggled when she noticed Ryoma's red face. "Dinner is ready."

"I'm not hungry," Ryoma mumbled as he pulled his legs up his chest and wrapped his arms around his knees.

"I'll be down in a minute," Fuji shooed his sister away. Waiting until he heard her walking down the steps, he returned to Ryoma. "Are you mad?"

"I just don't have an appetite…I'm fine," Ryoma averted his eyes to focus on his knees.

"Then, I'll be back in a little bit," knowing what he had done just moments ago had crossed many lines, he left the room.

Ryoma found that his whole body was quivering. He feared what Fuji might have done to him if Yumiko hadn't walked in at that moment. Though, he could feel the longing of wanting to know what would have happened at the same time. His heart wouldn't calm down from the rush of Fuji's scent. There was something there that Ryoma couldn't completely understand; a reaction that he had with the older boy being so close. With tears starting to fall down his heated cheeks, he rose from the floor and wobbled towards the bed. Flopping down onto it, he squeezed his eyes tightly shut and forced himself to fall into a painful sleep.

* * *

When Fuji came up the stairs and went back into his room, he only stared at Ryoma for a few minutes until grabbing his pajamas and leaving. After what he had down only an hour earlier, he couldn't let himself rest next to him. Ryoma was fragile, and what Fuji had done might have cracked the beautiful porcelain in which Ryoma was. If Fuji continued to let his desires get the better of him, Ryoma would only continue to break until no one would be able to take his pieces and build him back up to what he once used to be.

**NOTE:**** I know, you had to wait around three weeks just for this short chapter. Please don't hate me! I didn't want to just go into the next part because…I just didn't want to. I…I love you?**

**Okay, lets get a little serious. The next update will be on April 27****th****. On my profile, I have a new poll that you should check out. I do have a new FujiXRyoma fic out if you haven't seen it yet. It's entitled "The True Meaning of Love".**

**I really don't have anything interesting to say. I have to go update "The True Meaning of Love". I hope you enjoyed this chapter even though it was a little on the short side. Thank you for reading, and I can't wait to see you for the next chapter. Thank you for all the reviews and everything else; it means a lot to me~!**


	15. Chapter 15

_"No…I don't want to!" Ryoma backed himself towards the corner of the small room. He knew there was no where for him to run._

_ "It's punishment, Ryoma."_

_ "But I didn't do anything wrong," he shook his head and let his body slip down to the floor. "It's not my fault that this happened."_

_ The man who stood in front of the boy, Nanjiro, began to pull at his clothes. "You know you enjoy it. You like my touch."_

_ "I…I don't," he flinched when his father's lips touched against his neck. His weak body tried to push the older man away. "Stop it."_

_ "You shouldn't tell your father what to do, Ryoma," he forced Ryoma to turn around as he pulled him onto his feet. Ryoma's whole being began to quiver in fear; he already knew what was coming next. "I'll make sure it hurts."_

_ "Don't..." Ryoma let out a yelp as his father entered him. Tears streamed down his cheeks as the thrusting became painfully fast. As he stood there with his own father grabbing at him, he found himself giving up his fight. It would be easier if he just gave in._

_ "Enjoying yourself?"_

_ "No…" Ryoma panted. "No―!"

* * *

_

"Aaaaahhhh!" Ryoma rose from his slumber in a cold sweat. Looking around in a panic, he threw the covers off of him and jumped out of the bed. He headed for the door of Fuji's room and fumbled to open it. In the hall, the Fuji family was rushing towards the room.

"Echizen," before Fuji could take a step forward, Echizen had fell into his arms.

"Fuji-senpai," Ryoma's grip grew tight around the older boy's waist. "It hurts…senpai…"

Fuji lowered his head so his chin could rest upon Ryoma's soft hair. Reaching out, he shooed his family away and allowed his arms to greet the shaking body that rested up again his. "What's the matter?"

"Where were you? He came…he came and got me because you weren't there," Ryoma gasped through his sobbing. "You weren't there to protect me!"

"You just had a nightmare, Echizen. Your father won't be able to get you here."

"Where were you? Why weren't you there for me?"

"I thought you needed some space," he let out a sigh.

"No," Ryoma bit his lower lip. "I don't have nightmares as often when you're with me…"

Fuji was shocked by how easily Ryoma was able to admit such a thing. "Echizen…I―"

"Syusuke! Ryoma-chan!" Fuji's mother called from the lower level. "Hurry down here!"

Without finishing what he had to say, Fuji let go of Ryoma and headed for the stairs. Ryoma, not wanting to be left behind, followed behind.

* * *

Down in the entrance of the house stood a young woman. Right when she saw Ryoma, she ran towards him and grabbed him in her arms.

"Ryoma, I'm so sorry," he voice whispered in his ear.

"Why are you here?" Ryoma didn't even touch the woman.

"I came to get you. I received a phone call, and I rushed back in town as fast as I could."

Ryoma quickly pulled himself out of her grip and took a few steps back. "You left me, and now you think it ok to just come back like this…"

"How was I supposed to know that your father was going to do these things to you, Ryoma?" she scanned the people around her. "Get your things; you'll be coming back to America with me."

"I don't want to!"

"Stop acting like a child and gather your things. Our plane leaves in four hours."

"I'm not going back to America. I'm not leaving this house," Ryoma continued to back up until he bumped into Fuji. "I want to stay here with Fuji-senpai and his family."

"Don't you think you've stayed here long enough? It's better for you to be with me," she placed a smile on her face.

"But―"

Fuji placed his hand over Ryoma's mouth and stared down his mother. "Weren't you the one who left Echizen with his father? Wasn't it you who told him to be strong and that things would be better without you around? If you could walk out on your son once, you should just do it again. You could have prevented this pain that has been put upon him. You left him and allowed him to be raped numerous times by his father. If there is anyone Echizen should blame other than his father, it should be you. Leaving him defenseless and alone with some perverted pedophile was the worst mistake you could make. As a parent, you've failed to be there for your son when he needed you the most. Echizen is more loved here than he probably ever was in that broken house he was once apart of."

She stood there at a lost of words until Fuji's mother yanked at her arm and dragged her towards the kitchen. "Echizen-san, excuse my son. Lets go talk over a cup of tea."

"Should I see what the cards have to say?" Yumiko lingered to the side of Fuji.

"I think it's best if you don't," Fuji turned to his sister. "Maybe you could go help Mom out in there."

"Right~!" she giggled and walked out of the room.

"Senpai―"

"Don't worry, Echizen, everything will be fine," Fuji let a smile form on his face.

"That wasn't what I was going to ask," Ryoma wobbled a little as he turned to face the taller boy. "It scared me last night when you came so close to me, but I still wanted to know what was going to happen if you continued. Why is it that even when you do weird things, I still feel the safest around you? I don't understand why I came to your house…I don't know what's going on with my body. It scares me, Fuji-senpai. I never wanted to show all these fears I have, but I don't know what I'm going to do anymore. It feels like with every step I take forward, I'm taking three more back."

"Things will get better with time…"

"I want you to stay by my side, but I don't want to continue to use you just because I can't stand on my own two feet."

"Why are you saying these things all of a sudden?"

Tears fell down Ryoma's cheeks. "Because my mom's going to take me back to America, and I won't be able to see you or anyone else ever again. She's going to take me away even though what you said was right. You love me more than anyone in my family probably ever has…"

"Echizen, maybe she'll change her mind," Fuji tried his hardest to make Ryoma feel better, but in his mind he couldn't even convince himself that Ryoma would stay with him.

"Whenever I think about her, I just remember her walking out. With that memory comes the one of me being striped naked and being violated by my dad. Even now, I can't shake the memory of when he first tore into me. The nightmare continues to play over and over in my head, and you're the only one that has been able to pull me back into reality. I can't continue to rely on you, can I? If I leave this house, if I go with my mom, I won't be able to stop the nightmares. I won't be able to control my screams or when I lash out in hate. All I'll be able to do is cry until there are no tears left. I don't want to live life like that. I want to forget about what has happened. I want to start all over again, but I know that's impossible. I can't change what has happened and that's what hurts the most. I'm just this filthy child that was raped as punishment for something I couldn't stop from happening. No one will ever want to be with someone like me. No one will ever love me because I'm no good. I can't even play tennis because my mind keeps reminding me that it was him who first put a racket in my hand. I hate feeling this way…I hate being so useless. I don't want to be just some rape-case child. I want to go back to living like I used to. Is it wrong that I want to stay here? I…I just…" Ryoma paused when two warm arms were wrapped around him. Through all his gasping and sobbing, he rested his head up against Fuji's chest. His entire body went limp as he passed out.

Fuji held onto the younger boy and placed his lips against his teal colored hair. In a faint voice, he whispered, "I'll love you."

Ryoma's mother, who had listened to the conversation, wiped away the tears that formed in her eyes. She made her way up to her son and Fuji. "Take care of him for me."

"I will…"

Without saying another word, she walked out of the house and Ryoma's life for the last time. Fuji's mother told Fuji that Ryoma would be living with them from that day on. She was going to be given full custody of Ryoma because his mother knew that he would have a better life with them than he would with her. Even though he didn't know it, Ryoma was slowly taking steps towards a better life. Fuji wouldn't allow him to continue to fall backwards. He would take Ryoma's fragile hand and walk along side him forever as long as he would allow him to do so.

**NOTE:**** Now that I'm mentally gone…that was chapter 15. The next update will be May 5****th****. This wouldn't have been up about one or two hours earlier, but I decided to make a writing playlist for when I…well, write. Seriously though, this chapter made me get teary eyed. That is a first for this fic. I don't know why, but I was just in my little zone while writing Ryoma's dialogue (Amira Zone?). Oh, and I'm sorry if this chapter seemed a little different compared to my other ones. I don't know, I just feel like I've been writing oddly lately. I've actually been trying to make Ryoma completely break down (kind of like what happened back in chapter 8 but more dramatic…or something)…it just hasn't been working yet.**

**Between "The True Meaning of Love" and this fic, I'm going to become mentally unstable or something. I'm just trying to get better because at this rate I don't even think I would buy my own novels (Where has my confidence gone?). I'm going to try and start a new fic next week (It'll more than likely be "Gamble on Me".). Then sometime after May 16****th****, I will start a couple more. This fic is going to end sooner or later (I can't drag it out forever.). I need to be editing my novel, but I always put you all and my fics first. I want to be a novelist, but I can't even take the time to edit the one that I have written. I'm sorry, I'm rambling like some weird person (You all probably think I'm some weird, sadistic, pervert anyways. Why am I assuming things?).**

**Thank you for reading this chapter. I hope it wasn't too terrible. I will be back soon with another chapter. I'm sure we'll see each other at that point~!**


	16. Chapter 16

Ryoma's eyes fluttered open as he heard creaking coming from the door. He scanned the room, trying to figure out how he got there. He looked towards the opening door to see Fuji slim figure walking in along side a taller boy.

"He's in here, Tezuka," Fuji placed his index finger up against his lips. "Don't be too loud."

"Ah," was all Tezuka said before his eyes met with Ryoma's. As he took a step forward, a meowing sound came from his arms. This caused Ryoma to tilt his head in confusion.

"Did we wake you?" Fuji placed his hand on Tezuka's shoulder to motion him in further.

"Tezuka-buchou just…" Ryoma shook his head and tried to figure out what exactly was going on. When his mind finally remembered what happened, he almost jumped out of the bed. "Where did she go?"

Fuji caught the boy in his arms as he tripped forward. "I'll explain everything in a little bit. First, Tezuka brought you something."

"Something?"

From Tezuka's arms jumped a fluff-ball of fur that instantly tumbled its way onto Ryoma. "Nya~"

"K-Karupin!" Ryoma's voice cracked as the cat cuddled up against his cheek. "You're safe."

"It's nice to see you with a real smile on your face, Echizen," Fuji giggled.

"How'd you find Karupin?" Ryoma turned to his captain.

"I went to your house a few days ago and found her," Tezuka blink a few times before his stoic look took over. "She was weak when I first picked her up, but she seems to be doing better now."

"You went to my house…" he shifted his vision towards Fuji and back towards Tezuka. His heart began to race as his mind pictured the worst possibility. "What did he do to you?"

Tezuka placed his hand on his left shoulder. "It isn't something to worry about."

"Buchou…" Ryoma mumbled as he brushed his hand across Karupin's fur. "You know what happened to me, don't you?"

"Echizen, that isn't r―"

"Yes," Tezuka's blunt statement cut off Fuji's words. "I only came to bring your cat here since Fuji gave me the ok. I'll be going now."

"Please don't tell anyone!" as those words slipped through Ryoma's lips, Tezuka turned away and slightly nodded while walking out the door.

"Mom is going to call Yuuta later on today to tell him that we'll be moving his things out since he only comes to visit every once in awhile," Fuji placed his hand on the cat's head and lightly scratched behind her ears. "He'll understand that you need the room more than he does."

"What are you talking about?"

"Your mother agreed to let you stay here. After talking with mom, she understood how hurt you were and decided it was best for you two to part ways for the time being. I guess since you father is still around, she can't give custody of you over to us since he would need to sign the papers or something like that."

Ryoma blinked a few times and let Karupin slip out of his arms. "She left again? Does she not even care about me?"

"Echizen…" Fuji bent down so he could look straight into Ryoma's honey-brown eyes. "She cares more about you than you might think. She knew that right now you need to be here to continue school. It wasn't that she wanted to leave you behind…it was the fact that she knew she had to. What she wants for you is happiness."

"How are you so certain about that?"

"Because I could hear the sadness in her tone when she whispered to me to take care of you for her," he paused for a moment and allowed his eyes to close. "She might have also mentioned those things when talking to my mom."

"Fuji-senpai, do you know what happened to Tezuka-buchou? Did my dad hurt him?"

"I don't," Fuji gently messed with the strands of Ryoma's hair. "You don't have to worry about Tezuka since he's such a strong guy."

Ryoma slightly flinched from the unexpected touch. "Did my mom really tell you to take care of me?"

"I wouldn't lie to you," Fuji let his fingers trace across Ryoma's soft skin until he reached the young boy's hand. "You must be hungry since you've been resting most of the day."

Ryoma's stomach growled in response to Fuji. The younger boy allowed Fuji to continue to hold onto his hand as he was dragged out of the room and down to the lower level of the house. He was slowly getting more and more comfortable with Fuji's touch; almost to the point where he never wanted him to let go.

* * *

Down in the dining area, Ryoma sat across from Yumiko who stared at him with a smile on her face. With every bite of rice Ryoma placed in his mouth, he looked up hoping that Yumiko was no longer looking at him. Unknown to himself, Ryoma made a soft grunting sound.

"Staring is rude," Fuji tilted head and let out an airy laugh. "Tomorrow we have morning practice, so Echizen and I need to go to bed early."

"We haven't had the chance to move Yuuta's things. I'll be sure to do that tomorrow so Ryoma-chan has a room to sleep in that he can call his own," Fuji's mother placed her chopsticks down to show that she was finished with her meal.

"If it's ok, I'd rather continue to stay in Fuji-senpai's room a little bit longer," Ryoma squirmed a little in his chair. "I…I don't like the idea of being by myself just yet."

"That is up to you and Syusuke. When you're ready to sleep in your own room, I'll make sure Yuuta's room is clean for you."

"…thank you…"

Yumiko stood from her seat and reached to grab Ryoma's bowl. "I'll clean up."

"Echizen, lets go get our things ready for tomorrow," Fuji, already on his feet, pulled at Ryoma's chair.

"Right."

* * *

After Fuji and Ryoma prepared their tennis bags for the next day, Fuji let out a yawn as he stretched his arms in the air. Ryoma couldn't remove his eyes off of Fuji's body as he slipped his slender body into his pajamas. When Fuji turned and smiled at Ryoma, the younger boy quickly looked down at his hands.

"If you're not tired, Echizen, you don't have to go to sleep. Just don't stay up too late," Fuji walked over to the bed and pulled down the covers. He plopped himself down and rested his head on the pillow. "Sorry, Mom said that Karupin couldn't stay in my room since I have all these cacti. She doesn't want the cat to get hurt."

"I understand," Ryoma watched as Fuji's eyes closed and he drifted off to sleep. The rhythmic sound of his breathing calmed Ryoma's heart. The young boy turned towards the window where all of Fuji's cacti rested. He noticed the broken pot from the first day he had appeared at Fuji's house. It seems as if Fuji didn't want to rid of it. Next to the pieces was a new pot that held the cactus that fell out of the broken one. In Ryoma's mind, it looked as if it was bandages and fighting to stay together. He felt like he could relate to the small cactus as well as the broken pot. He had fallen to pieces and was bandaged together in order to stay alive. Just like that small, green plant, Fuji was the one to care for him even when he was barely hanging on to what life he had left.

Ryoma returned to the bed where he sat down. He leaned his shaking body over Fuji's and bent down until he could feel Fuji's breathing on his cheeks. The memory of Fuji's lips coming so close to his flashed in his mind. Was that potential that Yumiko was talking about before? His heart began to race and he bit his lower lip. Not knowing what he should do, he scanned Fuji's face one last time before letting their lips make contact. Right as Ryoma felt the softness, he pulled away in a panic. Fuji continued to rest there, and the room was filled with silence other than his quiet breathing. Ryoma fell to the floor and covered his face with his hands. Tears dripped down his cheeks as he shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Fuji-senpai," Ryoma whispered to himself. Kissing Fuji only sent painful memories through his whole being. No matter how much his heart longed to be loved, Ryoma's body and mind was still not ready to be held by anyone. Crawling back towards the bed, he curled up next to Fuji and fell asleep. As long as he was next to the older boy, he felt safe.

* * *

In the middle of the night, Fuji and Ryoma woke to a loud crash and a demanding voice, "I've come for my son!"

The real nightmare was now about to start.

**NOTE:**** I'm back! Sorry it took me almost a month to update this fic. I am sincerely sorry about that. May 14****th****-16****th**** was amazing. If you want to know about what I did at the anime convention and see pictures, check out my profile. I have no update schedule yet because I'm so off right now that I can't even think straight. I would just continue to check my profile for updates.**

**Yes, I ended this chapter with that cliffhanger type feel (Just like the first chapter.)! I all of a sudden remembered the cactus pot Ryoma broke, and I realized that it is great symbolism (Yay for remembering things from school.). People probably hate me because Ryoma kissed Fuji while he was asleep (just like Fuji told Ryoma he'd love him after Ryoma passed out). I hope this was a decent enough chapter and worth the wait.**

**It is really hot, my chocolate is melting, and not even my fan is keeping my room cool enough. I made a Twitter account and was thinking about using to keep people up to date with why fics are delayed, new fic ideas, new update dates, and possibly writing tips. The link to the account is in my profile, so if you're interested in it, you follow me or whatever (I could do like "song of the day" as well. I only really listen to Japanese music though.). If I start getting followers, I guess I'll start using it. If not, I'll probably just let it sit and rot.**

**I forgot to mention this in the last chapter's note, and I feel horrible about it. Thank you all so much for over 100 reviews! Knowing that people are reading and reviewing my fics makes me so happy. Also, if you haven't checked it out yet, I do have a third FujiXRyoma fic out titled "Abuse Me". Thank you for all the support and just reading my fics. It means a lot to me. I'll see you around for the next chapter!**


	17. Chapter 17

Ryoma clung onto the back of Fuji's shirt as the two of them sat on his bed. His entire body shook and he could hear yelling coming from below them. Fuji reached for the phone that sat on his nightstand and held it firmly in his hands.

"Echizen…" Fuji's soft voice trailed off as he shook his head. "I'm going to call the police."

"I'm scared," Ryoma mumbled as he heard beeping coming from the phone.

"Get out!" Fuji's mother growled as footsteps grew closer to the room the two boys sat in.

"You took my boy, so I'm here to get him back," the door slammed up against the wall. "Miss me, Ryoma?"

Fuji jumped off of the bed and set the phone in Ryoma's lap. His icy blue eyes quivered as he walked up to the older man. "You have no right being here."

"Oh, it's you again…how annoying. Don't worry, I know how to take care of you," Nanjiro placed his hand onto Fuji's shoulder and shoved him into the wall. His body slid to the floor in an aching pain.

"Nn!" he cringed as he saw the man heading for Ryoma. "Call the number, Echizen!"

Ryoma fumbled with the phone and tried to quickly push at the buttons with his unstable fingers. Before he knew it, the phone dropped to the floor and his father had a tight grip around his wrist. He let out a painful scream as his body was dragged out the door.

"ECHIZEN!" Fuji yelled as he tried to get onto his feet. Tears formed in his eyes as he saw the young boy being taken away from the place he belongs. His entire body cried as he felt like he had failed at what he wanted to do the most…protect Ryoma.

* * *

Ryoma was forced into the small car that his father had always driven. His attempts to push the older man away were usually; his body was too weak and the man was too strong. As the car sped down the street, Ryoma began to think of the options he had. If he were to scream, there would be no one around to hear his cries for help. If he were to open the door and jump out, he might not be able to survive the contact with the ground do to the speed of the car. In his mind, the only option he really had left was to sit there and wait to see where he was being taken.

* * *

The car came to a stop and Nanjiro opened his door. "If you try to run from me, it will just make things more painful for you."

Ryoma didn't bother to say a word as he removed his seatbelt. Slowly, he followed his father back into the house that used to be filled with happiness. The only memories that filled his mind now are the ones of being violated. Even though he wanted to run so fast down the sidewalk, he instead walked into the house and stared at the broken glass and stains on the floor. How long had it been since he last stepped foot into this house? Time had passed so slowly that he no longer remembered. He never thought he'd be brought here again.

"Welcome home, Ryoma."

"This place…it isn't my home any longer," Ryoma mumbled as he made his way through the rubble. "This is prison…"

"Ah, those aren't the types of things you say when you're welcomed back. You're supposed to thank the person," Nanjiro picked up a magazine from the off the carpet and flipped through it. "You were hard to track down…and it wasn't easy getting to you. Calling the police on your own father…why would you do such a thing?"

Ryoma watched as Nanjiro took a couple steps towards him. "Nothing I've done…none of it has compared to what you have put me through. Calling the police was for my own protection!"

"For your own protection?" he reached his hand out causing Ryoma to jerk away and fall to the floor. "On the floor already? You're such a naughty boy, Ryoma."

"Stay away…go away!" Ryoma placed his arms in front of his face in defense, but let out a scream when he noticed his father wasn't after his lips. A hand slipped down his pants and softly brushed against his skin. "Stop it!"

"You know you enjoy these things more than I do. Now behave yourself or I'll have to use force."

"You already are!" he growled as he tripped to pull away.

His father responded by turning him over. He quickly stripped away the clothes that covered Ryoma's frail body. Ryoma tossed around, but Nanjiro's hand was firmly pushed against his back causing his movement to be pointless. He yelped as his father's tongue traced his body from ear to toe. Two fingers were placed in his mouth causing him to cough.

"St…stop…" Ryoma begged as he felt the now wet fingers trail along his bottom half. As they slowly entered inside him, he gasped and tried to once again escape the man's grip.

"It's so tight, Ryoma," Nanjiro laughed as his hand movements became rougher. "Enjoy it!"

"N…NOOOOOO!" his breathing began to fade as his eyes shut. Ryoma's body had completely shut down from shock.

* * *

"Hn…" a set of honey-brown eyes flickered open and squinted from the bright light of the room.

"Echizen…" a hand lightly brushed across his causing him to pull away. "Sorry."

"Where…am I?" Ryoma looked around but didn't recognize any of the objects in the white room.

"The hospital."

"Fuji-senpai…how…?"

Fuji stood up from the chair next to Ryoma's bedside. Taking the remote for the small television that sat in the corner, he clicked for it to turn own. "After your father abducted you, my sister called the police. An alert was given out to find you and your father." He let out a soft sigh. "It's all over the news."

"Who found me?" Ryoma looked at his left arm to see a small tube filling his body with a clear liquid. He gently touched it with his shaking fingers.

"I did, but…" Fuji turned and fixed his eyes on Ryoma. "Echizen, by tomorrow, everyone will know what has happened."

Ryoma attempted to sit up, but when a sharp pain shot through his back, he fell back towards his pillow. "Why?"

"Be careful, Echizen, it seems like he was being rough with you…"

"Why will everyone know?" his voice became more demanding.

"It's all over the news, Echizen. There's no way that you can look at them and pretend as if none of this has ever happened. Eiji already called me and asked what was going on…they're just worried about you," he returned to the chair he once sat in. "I'm sorry, Echizen."

"Fuji-senpai," Ryoma touched his hand against the older boy's cheek allowing the salty water to tickle his skin. "Why are you crying?"

"I couldn't protect you…" Fuji traced his fingers along Ryoma's. "All I could do was watch as you were pulled away from me."

"…Senpai…"

"I wasn't lying when I said you were loved more by my family. I really do…I―" Fuji rose to his feet as he heard the door click open.

"Good afternoon, boys," a busty female tapped her pen against a clipboard. "How are you feeling, Echizen-kun?"

"…I'm fine," Ryoma mumbled.

"That is wonderful. Now, I'm sure you know what happened to you. Right?"

Ryoma firmly stared into the woman's forest green eyes. "My father took me from the house I've been staying at only to bring me back to the place I never wanted to see again. Then, to top it off, he raped me. Yeah, I know what happened to me."

"Ah," she was shocked by how blunt he had been. "Yes, that is true. Your body has a bit of pain to it, but you should be fine by the morning. I have been told that you are now in the care of the Fuji family, so I will release you to go home with them. I will be back in a few minutes, and, please, Echizen-kun, if you need to talk, there are plenty of people who are willing to listen to you."

"Right," he picked at the sheet that covered his body as he heard her walk back out of the room.

"I brought you a clean set of clothes to change into. I'll step out so you can change," Fuji pointed to a small bag that rested on the floor.

"Don't leave…I…I might need your help…since…umm…"

Fuji let a smile form on his face as he removed the covers off of Ryoma. Wrapping his arms carefully around the boy's shivering frame, he helped him off of his back. "I'll be gentle…I promise, I won't hurt you…"

Ryoma flinched as Fuji began to remove the cloth that he wore. Raising his arms up, Fuji placed a fresh, blue colored t-shirt over Ryoma's head and onto his bare body. Slowly, a pair of jean shorts made their way up his skinny legs. He attempted to button them himself, but his hands wouldn't stop shaking. When Fuji reached to help, Ryoma let out a soft sound as his cheeks grew a light shade of red.

"Senpai…I…" Ryoma wrapped his arms around Fuji's neck as tears trickled down the sides of his face. "Please…I don't want to…I don't ever want to go back there. Don't make me…please…"

"Echizen, you won't ever have to go back to that place again. Your home is now with my family. I won't ever let that man harm you again," Fuji allowed himself to hold onto Ryoma's broken body until the doctor walked back into the room. Handing Fuji a piece of paper, she told them they were free to leave and that his mother was waiting for them outside.

* * *

In the backseat of the car, on the way back to the Fuji residence, Ryoma had fallen asleep. Only waking him up to get him inside, Ryoma once again passed out when his head hit the pillow on Fuji's bed. Fuji watched him as he rolled over onto his side; he looked peaceful. Turning away, he made his way towards the window the held his cacti. He picked up a piece of the pot Ryoma had broken and played with it in his left hand.

"Just like this small cactus, I will continue to care for you until you no longer want to hold my hand," Fuji let out a sigh. "I've picked up your broken pieces…you're almost fixed…soon, you won't need my help…"

"Fuji…senpai…" Ryoma murmured into his pillow in his sleep. "Don't…leave me…love…you…"

"…Echizen…" he looked back towards him and smiled. "You couldn't even imagine how much you've come to mean to me…"

Fuji changed into his pajamas and placed himself next to Ryoma on the bed. He enjoyed the face that Ryoma had as he was sleeping. It was calm and relaxed…so unlike the way he had been acting. It had put Fuji's heart as ease knowing that as long as things continued like this, Ryoma would be fine in the end.

**NOTE:**** Hi~ Long time no update, I know. People must dislike me for taking so long to update and having the last chapter end with a cliffhanger. Sorry, please don't hate me! Anyways, this was chapter 17, and I hope it was worth the wait. I will try for the next update on July 20****th****. Just so you all know, one or two more chapters is all this fic will have unless I do some crazy plot twist (which probably won't happen). With that said, I have a poll (if you haven't seen it yet) up in my profile to decide on the next FujiXRyoma fic I will be writing.**

**I had other things to say, probably, but I don't remember any of them. Thank you for continuing to read this fic. It means a lot to me. Also, that you for all of the reviews I have been receiving. When I got my 50****th**** review on "The Fallen Prince" I was shocked…to get 120 reviews on this fic is even more amazing. I will continue to do my best with all of my writing. Thank you so much~**


	18. Chapter 18

When the next school day arrived, Fuji removed himself from beneath the covers of his bed and headed for his closet. He contently smiled as Ryoma continued to slumber peacefully. Knowing that he couldn't sleep any longer, Fuji softly brushed his fingers through Ryoma's dark hair. As his eyes flickered open to reveal their honey-brown color, Ryoma let out a small sigh. Backing away, Fuji allowed Ryoma to crawl out of the bed. When his feet met the carpet, he tripped forward into the older boy's arms. For a moment, he stayed there in Fuji's warm embrace mumbling incoherent things into his shoulder.

"Echizen," Fuji's breath tickled Ryoma's ear causing him to pull away.

"We should get ready," he awkwardly played with the collar of his shirt as he stumbled his way towards the closet. After grabbing his school uniform, he went back to the bed where he began to change. Noticing Fuji removing his own shirt, his eyes began to linger onto his body.

"You can use the bathroom first."

"Ah, right," while buttoning his white shirt, Ryoma almost dashed for the door.

"Heh. He seems to be in a decent mood this morning," Fuji sat down on his bed and laced his fingers together. "Will he be okay once practice begins after school though?"

* * *

In the bathroom, Ryoma stared at himself in the mirror; playing with the strands of hair that fell in front of his eyes. Letting out a sigh, he moved himself slowly to the side and dropped to his knees.

"I have to be strong," he placed his hand on his chest. "For Fuji-senpai."

* * *

When Ryoma was finished in the bathroom, he waited for Fuji before heading down the stairs. After eating their breakfast, the two of them grabbed their bags and headed out the front door. Ryoma placed himself a few inches in front of Fuji as they walked down the sidewalk. His pace slowly grew quicker.

"Echizen," Fuji grabbed for the younger boy's shoulder causing him to stop. "Why are you in such a rush?"

"Uh!" he bit his lower lip and shook his head.

"Something wrong?"

"No…" Ryoma lowered his head before turning his body around. "Why would you keep that broken pot and that dying cactus?"

Fuji, at first, was shocked by the question, but his peaceful smile lingered back onto his face. "Just because it was damaged doesn't mean it's not living. That cactus still has plenty of life in it, so there was no reason for me to let it just wither away and die."

"Senpai is rather caring," swinging away, he continued to walk on. "It's nice."

His only response to Ryoma was a soft giggle before racing to be next to him. This feeling that was placed in his heart was something he wished would last forever.

* * *

Entering the school, the two of them parted ways. Fuji feared the questions that would come up and the reactions Ryoma was to have. There was nothing more he could do for the young boy; not when he was so far away.

* * *

Upon sitting at his desk, Ryoma was greeted by Horio. His response was shaky, and it was easy to tell that he still wasn't comfortable around even the people he's known for so long. Horio attempted to create a conversation, but Ryoma wasn't interested in anything he had to say. His focus, at this point, was solely on getting through the school day.

* * *

In another classroom somewhere else in the school building, Fuji sat next to Eiji. Their conversation began like normal, but it soon began to turn towards Ryoma.

"Is he okay?" an unusually sad look fell upon Eiji's face.

"Hmm?" Fuji attempted to act as if he didn't know what the taller boy was asking him, but he knew there was no way that he could avoid being questioned.

"Ochibi…he "

"He's fine," he quickly replied. "It's not something that should be brought up to him."

"I know that, Fuji. It's just, when I heard about things, I became worried. I think everyone of us from the tennis club did," Eiji squirmed around in his seat before making contact with Fuji's icy blue eyes. "You're the only one who knew what was really going on with him. Why would he try to keep something like this to himself when he was being hurt in unthinkable ways?"

"I don't understand his way of thinking, Eiji, but I'm sure what he's been going through isn't something he could just easily tell someone else. The pain that was being placed upon him was something no one should have to face alone, but I'm sure he was way too scared to tell another soul anything."

"Ochibi…is strong…" he softly mumbled as the teacher walked into the room.

* * *

As the school day went along, there were whispers throughout the building. Ryoma didn't seem to notice that there were students talking about him and what had happened. He was the star of the main gossip and didn't even realize it. The stares, the murmurs; they weren't there to him. He only focused ahead of him in order to get through the rest of the time he had to spend there.

* * *

The final bell signaled; students rushed out of their classrooms in order to get to their after school activities. Ryoma walked down the hallway with his head low towards the floor. Reaching the exit, he dragged himself towards the clubhouse where the tennis team changed. With each step he took, he felt his heart sinking more and more. He knew he had to face them sooner or later, but today just didn't feel like the right day.

"Echizen!" his upperclassman, Momoshiro, raced up to the younger boy and lightly slapped him on the back of the head. "Lets get ready for practice."

"Uh…" Ryoma flinched forward before turning around. "Momo-senpai…"

"Today's a good day, so we should go get something to eat after practice."

Ryoma softly smiled and looked behind Momoshiro to see Fuji making his way towards him. "Maybe."

"Afternoon," Fuji lightly touched Momoshiro's shoulder as he waved to Ryoma.

"Huh? Oh!" he began to chuckle as he shoved his thumb towards Fuji. "Fuji-senpai can come as well. He can buy."

"Right. We should get ready…" Ryoma sprinted the rest of the way to the clubhouse. As he walked in, all eyes met with his.

Today may not be a good day.

**NOTE:**** Sorry about the delay everyone! Chapter 18 is here…finally! I plan on ending this fic with the next two chapters. Chapter 19 should come out on around September 28****th****. It might be sooner though. These final two chapters are probably going to be a bit longer than normal since there is still something that needs to happen. I want the final chapter to come out on October 10****th****. Why? Because I uploaded the first chapter of this fic on January 10****th****.**

**Anyways, I would like to bring something up real quick. First, all update information can be found on my profile along with what's going on and why I haven't updated and such. Second, I will be lessening the amount of fics I'm working on at once in order to do other projects. Third, I will always have at least one FujiXRyoma fic that I'll be working on. Just, remember that you can find all information on my profile about things. Alright?**

**So, thank you for reading this chapter. There's only a little bit left, so I hope you'll say until the very end. I'll do my best to make the ending worth the wait…even if this has become another fic that I'm finding it sad to see it coming to an end.**


	19. Chapter 19

Ryoma scurried over towards an empty space in the room. As his fingers played with the buttons on his shirt, he felt everyone turn and busy themselves with other things. Placing on his tennis uniform, he slipped on his cap and let out a sigh. Being in that room was starting to make him feel awkward and almost nervous.

"Hurry up," Tezuka adjusted his glasses. "If you take any longer, I'll have everyone running more laps."

His warning caused all the boys to rush to change and run out of the room. Ryoma was left standing there; his hand clutching the end of his tennis racket.

"Echizen," Tezuka called.

"Uh!" Ryoma quickly looked up and let his eyes meet with Tezuka's. "Coming." He followed behind his captain as the two of them walked outside.

* * *

On the courts, Ryoma found himself lacking the ability to focus on the lecture Tezuka was giving. His mind continued to wander until a warm arm wrapped around his shoulder. The young boy snapped himself away and turned around in fight. He slowly backed away until he tripped and fell onto his back.

"Echizen, are you alright?" Momoshiro extended his arm hand forward in attempt to help the boy up. He gasped when Ryoma smacked his hand away. "What's wrong?"

Ryoma's gaze became cold as he stared up at Momoshiro. "I'm fine. I don't need any help. Don't touch me."

"…Echizen…"

He pointed his racket in Momoshiro's face. "You don't understand. You don't even realize that you could have prevented so much of this from happening!" Ryoma's body began to shake and he squeezed his eyes shut in attempt to keep tears from forming. "You didn't walk me home. You didn't stick around and play a match like you had said you would. If you were there…things would have ended differently. I wouldn't have ended up in that situation!"

Fuji, who stood back from the group that watched in awe, carefully listened to every word that flowed from Ryoma's mouth. He had to fight himself from running to the young boy's side. If he continued to help when he became scared, he would never learn to do things on his own. This wasn't his battle, and Ryoma's hand was not his to hold.

"Echizen, what's gotten into you?" Momoshiro lowered himself to the ground and pushed the tennis racket away. With every inch that he moved closer, Ryoma slipped farther and farther away.

"If you would have just came over…if only you would have…" Ryoma shook his head as he stood up. In his quivering eyes, mixed emotions that he couldn't get straight showed. Throwing his racket to the side, Ryoma placed his hands on his and allowed his fingers to pull at strands of hair. "He would have never raped me that night!"

Those words lingered around the group as there was only silence. Then, Tezuka made his way next to Ryoma with his arms crossed in front of his chest. "Everyone, ten laps!" He shifted towards Fuji who began to walk away. "Fuji, you stay here. You too, Momoshiro."

"Buchou…" Ryoma's arms fell to his sides and he slightly swayed.

"The things that have happened to you over the course of the past week have been very stressful for you, Echizen. As a team, we had decided to look away from these events to allow you time to heal. If you wanted to talk about things, I knew Fuji was there for you," Tezuka moved in front of Ryoma and bent down to his level. An unusual soft look formed on his face to show sincerity. "You have to understand that none of us would have ever wished something like this to happen to you. You are just as important as everyone else."

"It's true though…if he had been there…" salty tears streamed down his cheeks. "It would have been different."

Momoshiro bit his lip as he thought about how to word what he wanted to say. "Listen, Echizen, if I could have changed how things happened, I would have come home with you and played as many matches as we could. We can't change what has already happened though. All we can do is let you know that we're here for you no matter what."

Continuing to stand alone, Fuji remained listening to the conversation. His heart begged him to extend forward and say something, but his mind insisted otherwise. He would remain there in the distance watching over Ryoma.

"It'll be best if you rest for the day. Do some practicing on you own tonight, alright?" Tezuka got back to his feet. "Fuji, take Echizen home."

"Righ—uh!" Fuji's eyes flashed open when he felt a hand creeping into his. "Echizen…"

"…lets go home…" Ryoma mumbled. His body leaned up again Fuji's.

"Okay," he let out a soft giggle as they walked away from the courts.

"Are you sure that he's going to be fine?" Momoshiro cocked his head to one side as he watched Ryoma wobbling besides Fuji.

"Echizen is in good hands," Tezuka nodded to himself. "Go run your ten laps."

* * *

Right when the two boys entered the Fuji residence, they were greeted by Yumiko's loving smile. Before they could get their bags off, she insisted that they followed her into the kitchen. On the table sat a deck of cards and three cups of warm tea.

"Echizen-kun, you must have had an interesting day," Yumiko pointed to two of the empty seats. "Lets sit down and do another reading."

Ryoma hesitated, but once he saw Fuji sitting down, he placed himself beside him. "Okay." He carefully picked out six cards from what she had spread out on the table.

"Things are a bit different this time around. This first card in The Sun and represents how you currently feel about yourself. It represents that you are feeling joyful. Though, I can see that this card has yet to come into effect. Be assured that you will soon enter a period of fulfillment; the end of difficulties is coming for you. Card number two, The Hierophant, represents what you most want at this moment. This suggests that you most want at this time is to have someone around you that you can trust and confide in; someone you know won't let you down," Yumiko shifted her view towards her younger brother before returning to the card. "This next card is The Moon and represents your fears. It seems that you are still feeling insecure. You are afraid of being deceived and feeling misled. You must understand that The Moon does help illuminate the way; in the end, this will be alright. Next, The Magician shows what is going for you. If you are considering any new enterprise or relationship, you will find the self-belief, confidence, and ingenuity to make it work. The fifth card, The Star, is what's going against you. This is a period of tension and frustration. You may feel pessimistic and fearful that your hopes will be dashed. At this time, you must have faith in your luck that things will change. The final card, The Tower, is the outcome. A period of dramatic changes and upheaval is to come, but this change will be the start of a new beginning for you."

Ryoma stared down at the cards. "These aren't wrong?"

"I've been told that my readings have always been accurate."

"I have homework to do," he pulled himself out of the chair. "Excuse me."

She watched as Ryoma trotted away from the table and up the stairs. "These results were interesting. Syusuke, give me your right hand."

"Are you going to read my palm?" Fuji questioned as he stretched his arm across the table.

"No," she held onto his hand tightly with her own. "Syusuke, I hope you understand that you are the only one who can help Echizen-kun find that new beginning. I do not need cards to tell me what feelings are building up in your heart."

"I can't continue to allow him to rely on me. If he does, he will never grow stronger."

"Your kind heart is needed to guide his way. Be his moon, Syusuke, and illuminate the right way," Yumiko smiled. "And you might want to think about showing how you really feel towards him instead of hiding them to yourself. The outcome might be better than you would think."

Fuji took his hand back and stood up. "I should get my homework done as well."

"Syusuke."

"I will remember what you said," he grabbed his bag and headed upstairs.

"Interesting indeed!" Yumiko giggled as she gathered her cards. She held onto one last card, smirked, and placed it in the center of the deck. "The future is a beautiful thing."

* * *

Fuji walked into his room to find Ryoma once again staring at the cacti sitting by the window. He gently placed his hand on Ryoma's left shoulder; causing him to slightly jump up.

"Sorry."

"Fuji-senpai," Ryoma pointed at the small cactus that he had dropped so many days ago. "It's becoming stronger, isn't it?"

"It just needed a little help; it'll be fine now," Fuji reassured the boy who seemed to have grown fond of the small plant. "Everything and everyone can use a bit of help at times."

"I needed help too," he let out a sigh. "I still do."

Fuji was shocked by how easily the young boy admitted to his helplessness. "Echizen, you should know that I'm here for you. You're my teammate after all."

"Senpai, I think I'm starting to understand things better. After everything that my dad did to me, I'm wounded. The memories are painful, but they are now mine to keep. I blamed Momo-senpai because I didn't want to admit my weaknesses. I should have been stronger, but I just allowed myself to be abused by him. He was no longer the father I remembered when I was younger. I didn't know why my body had come here that rainy night, but I think I've figured out why…"

"Echizen?"

"I knew that you would be there for me and wouldn't judge me even after I poured out everything that had happened. My heart…" tears dripped from his eyes, and he quickly covered his face with his hands.

Fuji wrapped his loving arms around the shaking boy and placed his mouth to his ear. "It's okay if you just need to cry sometimes. I'll always be here for you. I promise you that." He moved Ryoma's hands away and brushed his fingers lightly across the boy's cheeks. Ryoma slowly began to move closer, and reached up in attempts to touch his cheek against Fuji's. Fuji could barely utter a word when he felt Ryoma's warm breath tickling his skin. "I promise…"

"These things are scary," Ryoma whispered. His breathing became heavy. "My body is doing things on its own."

"Echizen, I—"

"Just a bit longer; let me stay like this…"

"We can stay like this forever if that's what you'd like."

Ryoma's tears dried as he continued to linger there in Fuji's arms. The warmth between their bodies calmed the young boy's heart. Even with all the chaos and confusion, being there together caused his heart to be put at ease even if it was just for that moment.

**NOTE:**** I know, I didn't update like I said I was going to. I hope that this chapter was worth the wait though. It took me a total of about three days to write. The next chapter will be the last. I do not know the date that it will come out, but it will be before the end of October. It's been a long ride, but it's almost over (Kind of makes me sad.).**

**Some real quick things, I will be going on a month long hiatus starting November 1****st**** for NaNoWriMo. I have a rather random poll up in my profile that you can go vote on. I was originally going to do a reading for Fuji as well, but I decided against it.**

**I do hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please, if you enjoyed this fic thus far, come back for the final chapter. Thank you for reading, reviewing, and just doing what you do.**

**Yes, I realize that Tezuka was given a rather odd line…I can make Tezuka nice too!**


	20. Chapter 20

As the sun rose in the sky the following morning, Fuji rolled onto his side to see Ryoma peacefully sleeping next to him. Gently, he tapped his finger against the young boy's cheek causing him to reach his arm up to smack him away. Fuji giggled and continued to poke Ryoma.

"Time to get up," Fuji voice was soft to Ryoma's ears.

"Five more minutes," he mumbled as he tossed over on his back.

"Come on, Echizen, you have to get ready for school."

"Tired…"

Fuji sat up in the bed and began to tug at Ryoma's arm. "You can sleep later."

"I want to sleep now," he groaned.

"Echizen," Fuji's voice became stern as he hung his head over the other boy.

"Hn…" Ryoma's eyes fluttered open as he made contact with the icy blue eyes that stared down at him.

"Morning," he pinched Ryoma's cheeks and then quickly got off the bed. "Hurry up or we're going to be late for school."

Ryoma didn't reply, he just removed himself from the bed and wobbled his way to the closet where his uniform hung. He pulled the clothes off the hanger and proceeded back towards the bed. Laying the uniform onto the bed, Ryoma pulled his shirt off half way and let it dangle around his neck. He let out a sigh as he tugged at the elastic on his pants.

"Echizen?" Fuji tilted his head at the boy as he unbuttoned his pajama shirt. "What are you doing?"

"Getting dressed," Ryoma continued to pull at his pants. "What does it look like I'm doing?"

"Playing," Fuji, after getting his uniform, moved back towards the bed and picked up Ryoma's white, button-up shirt. "Do I have to dress you myself?" He grabbed Ryoma's arm and placed it into the shirt.

Ryoma flinched and jerked away. "I can do it myself."

"Right. I'm going to go to the bathroom. You should hurry up," he went for the door and left without looking back.

Slowly, Ryoma trotted up to the cacti in the room. He found himself drawn into the one he had dropped what seemed so long ago. Grabbing for it, he held it carefully in his shaking hands. He bit his lower lip as he went to touch his finger to the small thorns. Shaking his head and knowing what it would bring, he instead he lightly brushed the pot and placed it back down. He returned to the bed where he rushed to get dressed as he heard footsteps coming back towards the room.

"Echizen, are you dressed?" Fuji knocked on the door before opening it. "Echizen?"

"I'm ready," before running towards the hallway, he took one more look at the cacti and moved around Fuji. "Lets go or we're going to be late."

Fuji eyes up the cacti and noticed one was slightly moved. He stopped himself from going to them and quickly left the room. He ran after Ryoma who already had his shoes off and was heading out.

* * *

On the way to school, there was only silence between the two boys. When the arrived to the building, Momoshiro, Tezuka, and Eiji were there waiting to greet them. Eiji fought off the urge to run up the small boy and grab hold of him, but he didn't want him to run in fear.

"Morning, Echizen," Tezuka looked down at the short boy with his arms crossed and a stern look on his face.

"I'll be prepared for practice this time, Tezuka-buchou," as the words slipped from his lips, he moved around Tezuka to Momoshiro who stood behind him. He scanned the older boy and went for the door. "I'm sorry."

"Huh? Echizen, wait up," Momoshiro attempted to go after him but was stopped by Eiji's arm.

"Maybe it's best that we just let him walk away and not question his actions," Eiji bobbled around. "Lets see if he'll go out with all of us for a bite to eat after practice. Not just us but all the regulars."

"Fuji?" Tezuka looked at the shortest boy in the group.

"I think that's a good idea. We should get to class," Fuji softly smiled and walked into the school.

"Wait up, Fuji!" Eiji called and chased after him.

"Momoshiro," was all Tezuka said before going inside himself.

Without waiting any longer, Momoshiro followed behind and thus the school day began.

* * *

"Morning Echizen!" Horio bellowed as Ryoma sat down in his desk.

"Morning," Ryoma dug in his bag for his notebook and pencil. He only half listened to Horio's chatter as he prepared himself for the day's lesson. His head nodded with the words that the boy said despite him not overly knowing what he was saying.

"Oh, and there's that English test today."

"English test?"

"Yeah, but I'm sure you'll do fine. You always do in English," Horio chuckled as the teacher came into the room.

"Right," Ryoma sighed as his teacher began to talk to the class. He couldn't keep himself focused on the lesson and even found himself fighting off falling asleep. Luckily, every time his head tilted to the side, Horio jabbed him with his pencil. At first, it was a bit uncomfortable, but he remembered that Horio was just doing it to keep him from getting into trouble.

* * *

As the minutes drifted into hours, the school day came to an end. Ryoma scurried out of his classroom, through the halls, and out towards the clubhouse. Standing outside, his heart began to beat rapidly as he started to fear going into the room to change.

"Ochibi!" Eiji's arms wrapped around the young boy, but he quickly pulled away. "Oh, sorry."

"It's fine," Ryoma looked up at him. "Where's Fuji-senpai?"

"He had to do something after class, so he's going to be a little bit late," Eiji noticed that Ryoma was shaking; almost as if he was scared to be without Fuji. "Don't worry though; Fuji will be here for practice. We can go in together. Hey, and Ochibi."

"Yeah?"

"Don't forget that we're not here to judge you. We want only the best for you."

Ryoma blinked a few times, nodded, and headed into the clubhouse. "I think I'll be okay with a little support."

"And you have plenty of it," Eiji whispered as he followed behind.

* * *

In the small room, Ryoma began to pull of his clothes and get into his tennis outfit. No one stared at him or questioned anything. He sensed the safety of being surrounded by these other boys. They weren't there to hurt him; they were there to protect him from those who wanted to treat him harshly. Ryoma wasn't completely convinced that he could leave his guard down, but at least he was starting to understand things better. If these fears would ever leave him, this was something he was uncertain about. Everyone started to leave the room right as Fuji stepped in. He looked down at Ryoma and nodded contently as he went to change his clothes. The fact that Ryoma was doing fine without him calmed his heart, though, at the same time, Fuji feared it as well.

* * *

After a few laps around the tennis courts, all the members joined together. Tezuka talked about the day's practice and working hard together as a team. He broke everyone into pairs, and just about everyone was a bit surprised how he didn't place Fuji and Ryoma together. Instead, Ryoma was paired with Kaidou while Fuji was with Oishi. To Ryoma's dismay, it was said that they would be playing doubles. With a few complaints here and there, the teams made their way to the court they were assigned to.

"Don't think I'll treat you any different, Echizen," Kaidou hissed. "And don't hold me back."

"Shouldn't I be the one to say that?" Ryoma pulled at his cap and stood in his side of the court.

"Cocky little brat," he grumbled as he noticed Fuji and Oishi standing on the other end of the court.

"Lets do our best everyone," Oishi cheerfully smiled as he prepared for his serve.

"Should we go easy on these two?" Fuji softly giggled.

"Not a chance," Oishi tossed the tennis ball up into the air and let it make contact with his racket. "Ha!"

Kaidou, who was in the upper corner of the court, hit the ball back towards Oishi. It continued back and forth between those two until Fuji pushed himself into the game. Ryoma instantly swung forward and caused the ball to fly towards the back of the other end of the court. Somehow, he managed to play the game decently; that was until both he and Kaidou decided to run for the ball at the same time.

"Ow!" Ryoma fell to the ground and his racket dropped from his hand. "Maybe you should watch where you're going."

"Maybe you should learn how to play doubles!" Kaidou growled and threw his hand forward. "You going to give up?"

Ryoma took his hand and stood back up. "No way."

"Then get your racket and pick up the pace."

He only snickered and grabbed his racket. They continued to play, and even with their better teamwork, they lost. In the end, they all agreed playing doubles wasn't Ryoma's thing.

* * *

With practice over, the regulars somehow managed to drag Ryoma off for something to eat. At first, he was a bit against it, but didn't mind once Tezuka said he'd be paying. They conversed about school and tennis and how they had to do their best to come out on top. It was filled with a chaotic peace that allowed Ryoma to forget everything and just enjoy himself. Being surrounded by everyone reminded him that there is hope. No matter how dark the past was, he had to continue forward until the very end.

When they had finished their meal, everyone parted ways. Fuji and Ryoma were left to walk back alone with the setting sun their only company. Just like when they walked to school, there were no words spoken; just silence. Every once in awhile, Fuji would look next to him to see Ryoma staring down at his feet. As they arrived back at the house, Ryoma walked in first and took off his shoes. He let out a yawn and wobbled his way towards the stairs. Neither of the two boys had homework, so they left their bags by the front door and proceeded to the second level of the house.

* * *

"Fuji-senpai," Ryoma unbuttoned part of his shirt and threw himself onto the bed. "Do you think we could start that new beginning?"

"What do you mean?" Fuji sat down next to the laying boy.

"Well, there's already been a lot of drama, so I thought it would be best to start with a new beginning now. I'm scared of the future, and it's hard for me to admit it," Ryoma covered his face with his hands. "My father raped me, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't live my life. Right? I shouldn't allow this to continue to cause me so much pain. It's hard though…even with everyone around me, I still feel alone at points."

"We all have fears, Echizen. It's not just you who is scared. Every one of us have cried for you, pleading that in the end you'll make it through. You're getting there though, and it seems like you no longer need my help."

Ryoma quickly sat up and with tear filled eyes stared right at Fuji. "Don't say that."

"It's true though."

"Senpai…" he bit his lip. "Maybe I'm just stupid, but I don't think I would have been able to push through without you…"

Fuji grabbed for Ryoma's shaking hand. "I want to talk to you about something serious. I know that it might be a bit soon, but I don't want to lose you. It's now or never, I guess."

"What are you talking about?"

"Echizen, I worry that you'll leave me, and that is a painful though because I'm falling…"

"Falling?"

"No, I've already fallen," Fuji leaned in close as their lips met. "I love you, Echizen Ryoma."

Ryoma quickly pulled himself away as his cheeks glowed red. He couldn't control his crying as a rush of emotions poured through him. There was an urge to yell and scream and tell Fuji to not touch him, but as his heart was beating rapidly in chest, he shook everything away. His body fell into Fuji's arms and he dug his head deep into his shirt. Without another thought, he just sobbed. There were no words he could say at the moment because he had yet to understand what was really going on.

"I'm sorry," Fuji mumbled as he wrapped his arms around Ryoma's quivering body. "It was too soon."

"No," Ryoma's words were no more than a soft whisper. "I want it…this warmth…"

"…Echizen…"

"I came to you because I trusted you the most. I don't know why, but I just knew it…I knew you'd be there for me. I'm not fully healed. I still need you, so please don't let me go. Let me just stay like this."

"I won't ever let you go because knowing that you had been put through all this pain is the worst thought in the world," Fuji sniffled as he tried to hold back his own tears.

"Fuji-senpai…I love you…" his voice faded as his eyes closed. The tears that dripped down his cheeks slowly dried. Ryoma had finally found the peace he longed for in Fuji's loving arms.

_End._

**NOTE:**** On January 10****th****, 2010, the first chapter of "An Unknown Disaster" was published. Now, on November 10****th****, 2010, the final chapter is here. It's been a long ride, but I'm content with the end. Thank you for all who have stuck around until the very end. I hope that I have done a decent job at writing this fic. Hopefully I will be able to bring even better fics someday for you all to read.**

**Wait! Why does it say it's incomplete though? I have an epilogue I will be writing for this fic. I doubt it'll come out until after November is over though. Lets go with December 10****th**** at the latest, alright? I do have it planned out, so I hope you'll come back to read it. Until then, I thank you for reading this fic and for the many wonderful reviews. Thank you~**

**I hope to see you around for my next fics to come.**


	21. Epilogue

**NOTE:**** I just wanted to quickly say that this epilogue is written slightly different from the rest of the chapters and fic. You'll see what I mean once you start reading. I hope that you enjoy the way that this epilogue is written. Thank you…**

_A peaceful ending is what I had hoped for. To be able to rid of my fears and the painful memories that tortured my mind… it was wishful thinking, really. After months have passed by, I still wake up screaming in the night from nightmares that pull at every inch of my body. Then, I turned to the person next to me and realize that things are okay now. There are still times when I can't help but cry, though I realize that there is someone who cares for me; someone who will protect me.

* * *

_

"Fuji-senpai," Ryoma tapped his pencil on his book and let out a sigh. He looked up to see Fuji carefully watering the cacti in his room. "You sure do care a lot about those cacti…"

Fuji snickered before turning towards the younger boy. "I care about all the things I love. My family, my cacti, my photography, my teammates… oh, and of course, my Echizen Ryoma."

Ryoma's cheeks glowed red before he went back to looking at his book. "You always say things like that."

"Would you rather I lie about it?"

"No…"

* * *

_Conversations usually went like this… with nothing but silly chatter about nothing. In reality, I knew he wanted to question me about what was going on in my head; ask if I'm alright. I was still hurting on the inside, and the wounds were large on my heart. It would still be awhile until I would fully open myself up to anyone. Even the people I had called my friends had become farther away. Not because they wanted to, but because I kept pushing them further and further away from myself. I was scared… I still am. Months and months will pass right along, but I still can't allow myself to go back. I don't want to make people worry. Though, in the end, I know who's worrying anyways…

* * *

_

"Echizen, you seem a bit down. Is something wrong?" Fuji sat next to Echizen on the bed, forcing the younger of them to scoot over. "Want to talk about it?"

Ryoma shook his head and extended his right hand out in front of him. "Sometimes I wonder if he is sorry for what he has done. Does he too wish that these events had never happened? I should hate him… but in the end… he's still my father and taught me a lot…"

"In the end, you have to realize that what he did was a horrible set of events. He placed all this stress and pain on you, and even if he was sorry, he doesn't deserve your forgiveness. I know it's hard for you, but you really need to stop thinking so much about the past."

"I can't help it…"

* * *

_My father had been found and locked away for a long while. It made me feel a bit at ease, but I still felt bad. Yes, he hurt me and did unthinkable things to my body, but in the end, he's still my father. He was the one who picked me up as a child and loved me. He was the one who placed a tennis racket in my hand and taught me how to play this game that I would soon love more than anything else. Then again, he taught me how to hate and be fearful… how to not trust a single soul because they might hurt me too. It makes me wonder, which outweighs the other? The good or bad?

* * *

_

"Just know this at least, Echizen, I'll always be here for you. No matter what happens, I'm here to listen," Fuji's hand lightly brushed through Ryoma's soft hair. "And I'm not the only one who wants to see you happy."

Ryoma allowed himself to lean over and rest his head on Fuji's shoulder. "I'll be fine with time… right?"

"As long as you want to be, you will."

"If I could just stay like this…"

"Echizen," Fuji reached down and let their lips just barely meet. "We can stay like this for as long as you want too."

Ryoma closed his eyes, sighed, and pulled himself away. "I have homework to finish."

"Then get it done, or I'll have to ground you to Yuuta's room," Fuji laughed and grabbed Ryoma from behind. His arms lingered around his fragile figure. "You know, I really do love you, Echizen Ryoma."

"I love you too, Fuji Syuusuke, but…" Ryoma pulled up his arms and wrapped them up around Fuji's neck. "Mada mada dane."

* * *

_Without the negative in the world, can there really be positive events? Through all the pain and suffering, I was brought to this place. I realize that it doesn't matter which outweighed the other… because I'm just happy to be where I am now. In the end, my father could come back and do all of this to me all over again. It wouldn't matter to me because I know where all of it will lead me… into these loving arms that I might have been longing for this whole time. On that rainy day, I walked to this house to find protection. A disaster had happened that was unknown to all but myself. How could I begin telling him all that had happened? It was a question I didn't know the answer to. Though, as words slipped out and these pieces were placed together, my unknown disaster was revealed. It was an unknown disaster that would haunt me for the rest of my life but had brought me to the person who would save me. This was enough to make me know that it doesn't matter what bad had come or will come to my life… as long as I could continue to linger here in his arms…_

_I was once just like that cactus; broken and needing help. Now that I've grown stronger, I realize I still can use help from time to time. It was just one disaster that I left unknown… now that disaster is over, and I'm finally here where I belong._

_I love you…_

_Don't ever let these words fade because they will heal… though they sometimes do cause pain…

* * *

_

"Don't ever leave me, Fuji-senpai…"

"I promise you, I won't, and that's a promise I plan to keep."

_End._

**NOTE:**** Now it is really over. On January 10th****, 2010, I first published chapter one of this fic. On December 10****th****, 2010, this fic has finally come to an end with 20 chapters and an epilogue. I hope that this fic turned out to be something my readers can enjoy. It is sad to see that this fic had to come to an end, but I just couldn't push it any further. Hopefully I tied everything together and explained everything in the end. Thank you all who read this from beginning to end, it really means a lot to me. I really can't think of much else to say, so I will leave at that. Thank you for reading, reviewing, and everything else you all do. Until the next fic, bye bye~!**

**Oh! Wait! I know that I changed how I wrote the epilogue. I just thought this was a nice way to do everything in the end. I hope that was alright with everyone.**

**Did I spell Syuusuke right? Syuusuke… Syusuke… how do I usually spell it…? Okay! Bye bye now!**


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